


Nowhere and Nothing

by clefairysoup



Series: Nowhere and Nothing [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort makes an appearance, M/M, Some Fluff, big ol quest fic, this is an adventure really, you get it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-06
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-03-29 06:05:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 49
Words: 113,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3885211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clefairysoup/pseuds/clefairysoup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You can never leave Tartarus.</p><p>As Tartarus will never leave you.<br/>---<br/>Plagued by nightmares, Nico's been in the infirmary for his promised three days and then some. He's tired, in every possible sense of the word. To make it all so much worse, Will Solace has been every bit the worried mother hen, fretting over the tiniest changes in Nico's condition. And gods if it isn't adorable as all Hades. But when a strange patient revealed to be the daughter of an extremely powerful goddess goes missing, Nico is determined to go after her to not only prove his health to Will, but to also prove it to himself.</p><p>Will Solace hasn't had it easy. Nico is the only thing driving him right now, and as he fights to help the demigod cope with his vivid nightmares, he soon begins to have some of his own. Overcoming his personal fears, the son of Apollo is darkly tested on the quest to save the daughter of madness. Will struggles with the insecurity no one expected him to have, and though he tries to play the heroic boyfriend, there's no doubt in his mind that he is slowly breaking apart. With all that happens, Solace begins to wonder just who is saving who.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Nightmare, A Confession

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first fic, be gentle with me please! I'm still getting used to this formatting + I have to make some physical sacrifices due to shitty equipment, but if this goes well I'll post more! (you can find me at soupella.tumblr.com if you ever want any updates!)

Tartarus isn’t a place you can just leave.

 

_Nico was sprinting, wildly, through a seemingly endless wave of skeletal warriors. They raised their ebony swords high above their heads and thrust them down, missing Nico just barely, but emanating a powerful crash that shook the smoking earth beneath them. He stumbled with each collision of ground and bone, but didn’t stop running._

Once you escape Tartarus, it no longer becomes a place where nightmares grow and monsters fester.

_He looked ahead of him, at the light he was always running toward, and felt the wetness start streaming from his eyes. He wasn’t going to make it.._

__

_A piercing screech tore through the stark air as a harpy dived from it’s nesting place high above and shoved the son of Hades sharply to the ground. Nico struggled to regain his lost footing, but it felt as though the weight of every monster chasing him suddenly pushed against his body. The soil began to snake around his arms and legs, keeping him pinned. There was nothing but the shrieking of his captors and the tempting taunting of the light that shone just a few paces in front of him._

__

_It was calling his name. It was begging him not to leave it behind. Then just as quickly it was screaming._

_“It’s all your fault! Nico, I hate you!”_

_No no no.. Nico clawed helplessly at the ground, trying to pull himself forward, only to be forced deeper into the swallowing dirt._

__

_“You’re worthless! Weak! It’s no wonder you couldn’t save me! Look at yourself!”_

__

_The soil sizzled hotly and Nico let out a cry. The warriors and monsters from before had simply vanished into pools of shadows. Nico was left only with the burning dirt that coiled around him, hungry for his death._

_Out of the flaming earth appeared a face composed of rocks and worms, the mouth opening to reveal teeth made out of bones and a serpent tongue._

_Gaea smiled._

__

_“Give in, Nico di Angelo. Let the earth take you away from all this pain. All this suffering.”_

__

_“No!” Nico was fighting hard, his jacket tore at the attempt to break loose and he felt a stabbing pain in his chest. His ribs.. his lungs.. he couldn’t breathe.._

__

_“What life have you to return you, impudent boy? Greeks and Romans alike will never accept such a disgrace of a demigod. Give up.”_

_Shuddering with each breath, Nico threw a pleading glance to the light. It now glowed with a hateful, strong-spirited energy, and the tendrils of light darkened from a forgiving white to a despising grey._

__

_“Give up.” Said the light._

_“Give up.” Said Gaea._

__

_Nico saw stars ranging in colors from black to orange dance before his eyes. He could feel his body sinking lower and lower but somehow his head stayed afloat. Blood sputtered from his gasping lips, but Nico strained harder to rid himself from the Earth Mother. Can’t breathe can’t breathe can’t breathe.._

_The dirt wrapped itself around his eyes._

__

_“B.. Bianca..”_

 

You can never leave Tartarus.

As Tartarus will never leave you.

\---

The sudden jolt of consciousness sent Nico flying forward into a sitting position, which in return gave a fright to the mop of blonde hair that was resting against his side. Will Solace fell out of the chair and to the floor with a loud WHUMP. He groaned.

 

“Ah.. geeze.. okay.. whew..” Will lay on the infirmary floor for a moment, a hand reaching over to rub at the ocean blue marbles he called eyes. A breathy sigh gave way to a soft voice.

“Are you alright? Man, I thought we were under attack or someth… Hey, Nico?”

Nico hadn’t moved. He was sat up in the bed, covers strewn over the side, and dark brown eyes wide and unblinking, staring straight ahead at the wall. It was dark, but Will could practically see the sweat on his neck and the tears in his eyes. After a few moments of being paralyzed, the dark haired boy slowly turned his head Will’s direction. He opened his mouth slightly, but

Will cut him off.

 

“It’s fine. You were having a nightmare again, I take it.” Nico gave him a solemn nod, then turned away. Will sighed again, pushing himself to his feet and rubbing the back of his neck. It was one of the worse ones Nico had had that week, and Will knew that there had to be something he could do. Right? C’mon, son of Apollo, pull yourself together and think for once..

“I didn’t make it.”

 

Nico’s voice startled Will out of his thoughts. The boy had his arms wrapped around his knees with his chin resting on top and his eyes closed. Will could just make out that he was shivering, but he made no move to cover him up. It was the first time Nico had spoken in days and he wasn't about to ruin it by scaring him with affection.

“...I didn’t make it…” He said again, head lowering to hide his face. Will dropped his hands to hang limply at his sides, his own gaze casting downward. He wanted to help-- so badly he wanted to ease the hurting demigod, but since day one, Will hasn't had a clue as to how to start.

Those three days Nico had promised had long since past. On the first night (after much arguing between the two) Will managed to convince Nico to rest, but he began fading as soon as he fell asleep, and Will had to keep him awake for the whole night just to keep him from going ghost. It was terrifying, Nico just melting into this shadowy flame, it shook up the son of Apollo.

The second and third nights were just as difficult, the son of Hades sleeping as if he’d been deprived of it for years, which Will supposed he had been. The occasional nightmare would shake up the boy, but would never rouse him, and oftentimes flecks of shadows would float around his head, like parasitic moths. Will chased them away with a broom, but they would always turn inky and melt through the cracks in the floor.

Nico didn’t move or fade or anything for those two nights and it drove Will-supposed-doctor up the cabin wall. Once Nico woke up, his condition worsened and four days later he just suddenly went mute for near a week, sometimes fading in and out if he got lost in his own head. Will had to wonder what he was supposed to do if his patient wouldn’t even tell him what was wrong.

Nico was strong. Stronger than most would give him credit for, even, and Will knew that. He knew it when Nico first showed up at Camp Half-Blood, and he knew it when he left. The fact was, the strength in Nico has slowly given way to self-doubt. Will found himself frowning at the thought of Nico not believing how strong he is, and he shook his head free of the idea.

“It was just a dream.” Will said simply, settling back into the chair by the bed. He offered out a hand and cleared his throat, waiting. Nico looked up at the noise and took note of the hand being held out to him. Will didn’t pretend not to see the sparks of uncertainty and fear in the younger boy’s coffee-colored eyes. He offered a gentle smile, cheeks warm.  Nico gingerly unwrapped his arms from around his legs and shakily set his hand into Will’s. It sent a shock through him.

Cold.

_He’s not as pale anymore, he’s actually starting to look like an Italian,_ Will thought, keeping a mental track of the time as he pressed his fingers against Nico’s wrist to keep his pulse. He mumbled to himself when it was over, and then laced his fingers through his patient’s. If he thought he saw Nico’s cheeks pink or feel his pulse rise considerably, Will didn’t say anything. (What could he say? _His_ face was probably on fire.) With his eyes closed, the son of Apollo starting reciting words in Ancient Greek; a prayer to his father and a healing incantation.

 

_Please please please please please please. Please oh gods let this work._

Will felt Nico’s grip tighten as his hands began warming before giving off a soft yellow light. This light moved swiftly; up and around Nico’s shoulders, then down his back, and then through both of his legs, and then back up to his chest, before it settled right over the boy’s heart and began to grow brighter.

The light enveloped the ghost king, and Will opened his eyes to see Nico’s were no longer brown, but golden. It was... wow. He was gripping Will’s hand like his life depended on it, his other hand tightly screwing the bedsheets between his fingers as the light pulsated once, then twice, and then died out. Will was sad to see the glorious sight end, if he was honest.

Nico inhaled sharply, then coughed, still holding the blonde’s hand. He took in shaky breaths, but they soon regulated as the son of Hades’ heart slowed. Will found himself smiling slightly at the look of wonder on his face. It quickly drooped when the warm hand he was holding ripped away.

Nico didn’t look at the older boy, snatching the sheets that had pooled around his feet and throwing them around himself like a protective shroud. The blush on his cheeks was apparent, even in the dim light of early morning, but Will knew better than to tease him for it at a time like this.

“Better?” Will asked, giving Nico a once over. “Better.” He answered himself. Nico shrugged as if to confirm and buried his head in his crossed arms. Will grinned.

_Better._

**  
  
**

It was a slow-ish kind of morning for Will. Since Nico quickly clammed up about his nightmare and constantly changed the subject, they sat awkwardly in silence, Will too stubborn to talk about anything other than Nico’s condition, and Nico too stubborn to say anything at all. They glared at each other, empty of any actual anger, until finally Will stood up.

“Where are you going?” Asked Nico, the look of frustration absent in his eyes and instead replaced with curiosity. Will just gave him a stare, unsure how to respond. Nico rolled his eyes and then looked away, crossing his arms with a huff and mumbled something under his breath.

Will’s gaze softened considerably. He needed to know what to do to help, because he wasn’t about to let Nico leave just yet. The kid probably couldn’t stand let alone walk without fading, and Will just… he cared. Nico didn’t think anyone cared about him but Will did and he just…

“Why won’t you let me help you?”

The question was a shock to both the boys. Will clenched his fists and set his eyes on the son of Hades with a somewhat hurt expression. And he was hurt, Nico didn't seem to trust him and that hurt. Nico stared back with a look of disbelief but said nothing.

Will relaxed, running a hand through his hair and taking a breath. “Yea yea, you let me heal you to ease your pain but you don’t let me help you..” His eyes hardened. “Let me help you.”

Nico was frozen for a moment, but he shook his head slowly, regarding Will with sad eyes.

“Will,” the other demigod stiffened when he heard his name, and felt warm.

“Will, I don’t think you can.”

Warmth gone.

“What do you mean? I’m a doctor, aren’t I, I can help--”

“You can’t help what I’ve got!” Nico snapped suddenly. After being mute for so long, Will guessed being vocal felt pretty good. But this was good, this was working, he had to get it out and if Will had to push him, so be it.

The son of Apollo’s voice lowered.

“You won’t let me try.”

Nico dropped his shoulders, looking down at where his feet were covered by the blankets. He wiggled them slightly, and then shrugged. Shrugged. What was Will supposed to do with a shrug?

He sat back down, scooting close to the bed. In response, Nico scooted away.

Will inhaled deeply.

“It was a dark and stormy night… Actually it was daytime and the weather was fine. Not that that… matters-- Anyway,”

The blonde rubbed his hands together, watching for any reaction from the boy on the bed. He used to tell stories to the younger Apollo children whenever they couldn’t sleep, so he figured he might as well give this a go.

“You know Lou Ellen right? She’s like my best friend, love her to bits, anyway. We were talking by the stables, about- what was it? oh yea- who would win in a fight, Apollo, my dad, or Hecate, her mom. And I know it’s her mom, hands down, but I wasn’t about to just admit that, y’know? Family honor and all that!”

Will tries his luck at what he hoped was a prideful pose; one fist on his chest, back straight, and head tilted up as though he was watching something far more interesting off in the distance. He caught a grin from the corner of his eyes and continued.

“So it gets pretty heated, we’re shouting our heads off about it, and then out of no where, there’s all this screaming. We drop it pretty quickly and we’re freaking out, trying to find out what the Hades name is going on, when we catch sight of--lo and behold: Percy Jackson! Yea don’t give me that look, anyway. I’d heard he was off recruiting so I wasn’t expecting him back yet, but there he was with two newbies.”

Nico blanched. Will smirked. So he knows what he’s talking about, does he? As if to answer that unspoken question, Nico glared at him with what he assumed was to be a warning. Will winked and continued.

“Lou Ellen couldn’t find it in her heart to care and left, leaving me to watch from a distance.” A smile toyed on Will’s face. “You were so happy that you followed Jackson around all day, much to his annoyance--hey don’t pout this is a great story.”

Will giggled at the demigod hiding his face in his arms, cheeks burning.

“Anyway… you were young and to be honest you looked pretty wimpy, but you seemed capable of handling yourself. Which, gods know I wasn’t when I was that age. I didn’t show up here as excited and happy as you were.”

That seemed to catch Nico’s interest, as he peeked out and looked at him, as if telling him to go on. Will smiled, almost sadly.

“First of all, I had no travel partners. Save the voice of Apollo in my head telling me where to go, and secondly, I was terrified. I had been walking home from- gods I don’t know, a sleepover? The park? It doesn’t matter, I was walking by myself and this guy in a trenchcoat comes out of _literally nowhere_ and starts shouting at me. In Greek, by the way, which I didn’t even know I knew Greek, and I start running. What was I supposed to do?”

Nico was sitting up fully now, the sheet he had wrapped around himself covered his arms and the top of his head. His eyes were on Will, and he was listening intently.

“So I’m running blindly, and Apollo just yells at me to stop. I don’t, I’m not an idiot, so Apollo says, ‘If you must run, run _that way!_ ’ and this beam of light just bursts under my feet and makes a sort of trail. At this point, the guy in the trenchcoat is no longer a guy in a trenchcoat, and I’ve got this freaky bat-lady thing chasing behind me screaming, and I’m just running.

Eventually, the lady gets tired and turns back, and I just stumble through these trees and then fall over, dead asleep. I pass out, I admit. Not my most shining moment. When I wake up, there’s all these people standing over me, asking if I’m okay and I freak out again and then… Apollo claims me.”

Nico kept staring. Will stared back, smiling brightly.

**  
  
**

“I very luckily ran into some demigods out on a quest, so they took care of me and brought me here. A letter written by the great Chiron himself was sent to my mom, notifying her of my whereabouts-- all that jazz, and voila!”

Will clapped once, causing Nico to jump.

“The end! That’s it! Great, wasn’t it?” Nico doesn’t respond other than a look of disappointment and the shadow of a grin on his face before he threw the covers back over his head and laid down.

“Shutup Solace…”

Will laughed and watched the dark haired demigod curl under the blanket and close his eyes.

  
Tough crowd. Will could accept that you couldn’t please everyone, but gods. He lingered for awhile afterward, watching the boy’s breathing even out.

**  
**_Good,_ He thought, moving to stand. _Good to know my stories can put you to sleep, di Angelo._


	2. Enter: Stranger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your lovely comments, I don't think you realize how much they mean to me! c: Updates won't be consistent-- I've got a lot going on this week in particular, but you can expect more chapters eventually! Maybe! Who knows! I sure don't!

Nico stared darkly at the ceiling. He was long past counting the cobwebs and tracing the water stains that ran in streams. Already he’d watched the dust flicker past the cabin windows, listened to incoming patients moan and whine, and  This was infuriating.

As if being confined to the infirmary wasn’t enough, Will refused for him to have visitors. Something about being too unstable in his emotions to be able to handle the stress of it or something. Then he ups and leaves!

 

_What does Will Solace, Apollo’s golden child, know anything about stress?_

He angrily rolled over on his side, facing the wall by his bed. If Will were here, he’d probably have that stupid grin on his face and say something like, “There’s no such thing as too much bed rest!” and try to hand feed him ambrosia.

 

Nico pulled at his fingers. His hands worked just fine! Solace was only feeding him because _one time_ his hands vanished altogether and the plate quite literally slipped through his grasp. Will all too happily cleaned up the mess, but the embarrassment drove Nico to march away in a huff and hide in his bed with a burning face and empty stomach.

Nico rolled over again.

And where was his golden-haired angel saviour now? Elsewhere! Nico wasn’t sure where, probably participating in the camp activities _he_ was currently banned from. He could just see Will on the battlefield of capture the flag, cursing the Ares kids to shout their battle cries in rhyming couplets. There’s something appealing about a child of a war god attempting to find a rhyming word for ‘worthless.’

_Worthless!_

 

Nico froze at the voice, Bianca’s voice, echoing deeply in his head. Spitting images of fire and dirt and broken arrows. Worthless.. He was wasn’t he? He laughed, spitefully.

Here lay the son of Hades, the ghost king, the most feared demigod among demigods, in an infirmary bed, unable to leave in fear of taking one step and then vanishing in a puddle of darkness. Worthless. Weak. Disgrace.

 

Nico di Angelo is a disgrace.

Look at all he’d accomplished! Bianca is dead because of him, Octavian was destroyed by his demonic power, and here was the boy himself; broken and fading away. He deserved it. Oh he deserved to die, didn’t he?

The tears surprised him, but they were there, carving hot wet trails down his cheeks and onto the bedsheets. Nico sniffed quietly, rubbing them out of his eyes. He was _not_ crying. No way in Hades was he about to let Solace see him cry.

Solace. It was an appropriate name, Nico figured. For the past few weeks, he’s all he had to talk to. Confide in. Not that he’d confided in Will often.

 

“Can I.. tell you something?” Nico had asked. It had been drizzling that day, so Will stayed by his bedside, muttering incessantly about how many campers were going to come down with colds and come crying to him to snap his fingers and fix it.

Will looked shocked by the sudden voice, but  his eyes softened as they landed on Nico’s. He turned his whole body to give him his full attention, ever the therapeutic friend.

“Sure. Anything.”

Nico could feel it. The heat rising steadily in his cheeks, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. He was so anxious, tendrils of black curled out from underneath the bed and brushed against Will’s shins. Will kicked them off instinctively, not watching as they spored and vanished.

Nico cleared his throat softly, averting his eyes from Will’s and taking a breath. He glanced over.

“I-It’s about… what happened to Octavian.” He said it so quietly, it was almost as if he’d said nothing at all. Will nodded, understanding flooding his eyes, and gestured for Nico to continue.

“Um..” Nico looked down, fingers twisting the skull ring on his hand. A nervous tic he’d discovered.... He thought it was ridiculous. The son of Hades being _nervous_. “I-I don’t want to.. um..” He returned his gaze to find Will’s eyes. For whatever reason, the sapphire hues comforted him.

“I don’t want to do that again.”

Will stiffened where he sat . He must’ve heard it, then, he heard the genuine fear in Nico’s voice. He’d heard it and now he knows.

“I didn’t even mean to do that, I was just so angry and everything was happening really fast and I couldn’t stop..” Nico started rambling, feeling panic rise in him, tightening his throat . Will doesn’t believe him, he thinks he’s a monster. Just a lying monster who wiped someone out of existence with a raise of his hand.

Nico proceeded, cautious and fearful.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone like that.. especially not on accident. If I can’t control my power because of my emotions, then I could lose control couldn’t I? And then everybody would get hurt again because of me and I can’t live with myself if that--”

Will shushed him with a poke. He knew of Nico’s ‘no touching’ rule, and only made the exception to take his pulse, but he actually poked the son of Hades. Right on the nose. And whether it be out of pure astoundment or an ancient form of Ju-Jitsu,  Nico stopped talking.

“It’s okay, Death Boy.” Will seemed to cringe at the poor timing in the use of Nico’s less than favorite nickname, but shrugged it off with one of his easygoing  smiles. “That kid was out of control and you were only doing what you had to do to save the camp. I don’t think anyone blames you for protecting them.”

Nico shook his head, stubborn.

“But he was your brother.”

Will jolted , looking out of character with such a serious expression.

“He was no brother of mine.” He broke the tension then with another smile, a real one, the ones that always makes Nico warm on the inside and he was never quite sure why.

“Besides,” he added. “If it was a choice between you and him, I’m glad it was you who made it out of there.”

 ****  


_I’m glad it was you.._

“Tch.” Nico rolled onto his back again, arms crossed over his chest. “Yeah, right.” Like anyone was happy to keep a death omen around. On his first day in this prison of a hospital, a boy no older than ten nearly wet himself and a pair of twins cried at the sight of him, screaming about how they don’t want to die, please gods they don’t want to die.

Distantly, he heard the clattering of different medicines and herbs being rifled through.

“Please sit up, okay? You need to take this..” Someone was fussing with another patient nearby.

The many other children of Apollo were still busy as per usual. Nico could hear them hustling around the other beds (which were, of course, given privacy with curtains) and he could hear the coughs of the physically sick and the mournful sobs of the homesick.

“No..” The patient refused. Stubbornness wasn’t uncommon in the infirmary, more than once has Nico been woken in the night to the tune of incessant bickering. No one picked a fight with him, though. Actually, no one really talked to him at all.

No matter how many times Will had pleaded, no one else volunteered to help with caring for Nico. They’d been intimidated it seemed, which was of course, Nico’s fault. Will had once left a poor girl named Hae-Won in charge when a camper was sent to fetch Will because his friend had picked a fight with Clarisse and ultimately, lost.

“It’ll help you sleep. Please sit up?” The nurse on duty seemed to be grasping at straws. Nico couldn’t see the patient he was talking to, but he felt their presence on their bunk. Dark and familiar…

Hae-Won was sweet, he remembered, but she was very noticeably afraid and that hurt. So when she offered to make Nico’s bed, he flashed his eyes at her, knowing full well they were full of menace, and sent Hae-Won screaming. Will was pissed off royally, but he couldn’t stop laughing when he’d heard.

The sudden crash forcefully pulled Nico from the memory. He lifted his head to look at the bed a few feet away and saw that the curtains were trembling and stained with what appeared to be juice and medicine.

“I said no.” Said a voice. It was quiet and not very angry or frightening, but it had a stony edge to it that was just begging to be defied. It was a girl’s voice.

With an audible huff, Nico watched a taller boy rip back the curtains and stalk off, his shirtfront drenched. Every step he took made a squelching sound as he marched out of the infirmary, not looking back once. Intrigued, Nico looked to the bed where the curtains were left wide open.

She wasn’t very big, and her height suggested she was young, but the pools of hazel that were her eyes made her seem old. Her hair was blonde, but not a Will Solace blonde, it was a fadingly almost grey blonde that fell all the way down her back and over her shoulders until it rested in her lap, where bone-like fingers toyed with it. Her skin was pale, but it looked like it used to be a warmer shade, not unlike Nico’s, and it was peppered with freckles, not unlike Will’s.

She threw a glance toward Nico. Her eyes were intense, flashing from light brown to green when the light met them.

Nico returned her gaze just as fiercely. Who was this girl? Was she not afraid?

Apparently she wasn’t, as she cracked a grin before she looked away and pulled her legs in to hug.

 **  
** Rather sweetly, she said, “Staring is rude, y’know.”

 

~

 

It was almost evening when Will returned, and judging from the bagginess under his eyes and the way he walked almost like every step could bring him crashing down, he was exhausted.

Nico was sitting up, back against the wall and arms crossed, watching the son of Apollo stagger over to his chair by the bed and collapse onto it. Nico snorted. Will smashed his face onto the mattress.

“..Will..” Nico whispered, leaning over to the boy. “..hey.. Will.. are you alright?”

Will lifted his head after much effort and looked annoyingly drowsy at the disturbance causer.

“I’m s’posed to ask you that..” he mumbled, looking confused. Nico grinned a little, then quickly chastised himself for doing so.

“Yea, well you haven’t yet. What’s the matter with you, why are you so tired?”

“..hm…” The mop of blonde slowly floated down and back onto the bed.

“Will!”

Will jolted upright, hands flying to his eyes where they hurriedly rubbed away the sleep.

“What what? Wha?” Nico let himself smile, but shook his head. What a dork.

“Are you okay?” Nico repeated, “What’s the matter with you?”

Will stared blankly for a moment, causing a blush to rise in Nico’s cheeks. What? He wasn’t allowed to ask? How one-sided.

“I’m fine,” Will answered. “Are you okay? Did anything happen?”

“No, why?”

Will slowly smiled. “You haven’t said much, y’know. And suddenly you’re speaking. I was just surprised, is all.” He put his chin in his hand and leaned his elbow on his knee, obviously pleased to be spoken to. Nico reddened.

“Sorry..”

“Don’t apologize, I’m just happy cause now we can actually have a conversation and you can’t just flash me angry eyes to make me go away.”

Nico stared hard at him.

“Like those.” Will’s smile widened. “You don’t scare me, di Angelo. And I’m not running away from you.”

The night went on sort of like that, Will happy to be able to tease Nico again and Nico a little irritated, but secretly just as pleased. Will had been out all day making cabin visits to double-check on everyone’s injuries and see how they were healing. Everyone was fine, but then some new camper decided he’d try to climb a tree that was actually a nymph and got cursed. Will was chasing the kid around all day, apparently he was turned into a grasshopper.The nymph wasn’t very forgiving and Will had to promise her two days worth of dessert for her to lift the spell.

“How am I supposed to survive without dessert, Nico? I’m not gonna, and then I’ll be the one in this bed all day.”

Will rolled his eyes dramatically, if only to hear Nico’s half-laugh again. He drew in a deep breath and then let it out all at once, slumping back into the chair. Nico watched him for a moment, and then looked up to the bed where that girl was.

The curtains were fixed, so he couldn’t see her, but he could sense that she was awake and unsettled. Why did he care, all of a sudden?

“Nico?”

Nico looked to the son of Apollo. He had his elbows on the bed and his hands holding up either side of the face that curls of golden blonde framed. His eyes were watching Nico with sincerity, and Nico was surprised to find that even if he was exhausted, they shone just like they always did.

A pang of hurt washed over him, but only part of it was his own. He could feel something else, and it was intense. He winced and Will noticed.

“..Nico?” Will’s eyes were full of concern, and he sat up straight, ready to help.

It pulsated down his torso, pooling in his gut and catching fire. Nico could tell that his breaths shortened and he suddenly felt as though he were lost.

Nico shook his head, pushing the pain away. He was fine, right?, but someone else wasn’t..

“Will… something’s wro--”

He was cut off then by a cry. It wasn’t a quiet little weep that brought their attention, it was sobbing in its ugliest form. She was screaming, the girl in the bed a little ways over, and almost instantly Apollo’s kids were surrounding her.

Will stood quickly and rushed over, pushing through the crowd and pulling back the curtain. Nico was overcome then, and suddenly he was clutching to his stomach and biting back his own groans of pain. What was this feeling? Loss? Despair?

The girl was in a similar position, shaking and letting out mournful cries that sent shocks through the son of Hades. He wasn’t the only one being affected it seemed, as every patient in the infirmary was curled around themselves with the pain, the pain that the girl seemed to be causing by her crying. She let loose another shrill, and Nico gasped.

He watched as Will leapt into action, laying glowing hands onto the girl’s head. He was saying something, his mouth was moving, but Nico couldn’t hear it. In fact, he couldn’t hear anything, his world was all silence and pain and the sight of Will standing over the body of the girl was blurring, like a watercolor painting.

_Will.._

Will shouted something and two kids pulled back the girls arms and held them firm at her sides. She resorted to kicking , screaming and flailing, but the two Apollo kids were strong and seemingly used to her spasmodic movements. Will had a look on his face that Nico had never seen before. He looked so… determined.

_Will.. help..I can’t.._

The world was a wash of grey and white. In a bright flash, the girl’s crying immediately ceased and she went still, lying limply on the bed, eyes brimming with tears. Her mouth opened and began moving slowly, forming words Nico couldn’t make out. He saw Will nod seriously at her, and then glance up to where Nico lay, no longer writhing, but dwelling in the aftershock, where his bright blue eyes grew wide.

Then he was nowhere and there was nothing and Nico was afraid.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I TOLD YOU IT GETS GOOD IN CHAPTER TWO
> 
> If you want to stay up to date, I usually post when I put up a chapter on my blog which issssss  
> soupella.tumblr.com


	3. Visions of Ice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna go ahead and post this now because next week is gonna be final cramming/finals and we don't BOTH have to suffer c; Look at me, being all considerate. This is in no way to make up for the hell that is to come. Not at all. Don't even think that. No.

Nico bolted upright.

Ragged breaths anchored him to this newfound consciousness. But was he awake? He couldn’t really tell… The surreality was thick in the atmosphere, and it was just as dizzying.

He was sweating profusely, but at least he was no longer in pain. He looked down and placed a hand at his chest, remembering the agony that was tearing through it. He knew what that pain was, he’d felt it before. It was ages ago, but you can’t just forget that sort of shredding ache. It won’t ever let you forget.

Nico’s mind felt muddled, muted. Like someone had unscrewed his skull and stuffed it full of cotton balls. He could hardly concentrate on where he was.. where was he? It looked like his bed in the infirmary, but something was missing. Raising his head, he hazarded a look around, and it took too long for him to realize all the beds were gone. The room he was in was windowless, colorless, and hopelessly foggy.

“You’re awake.”

_Crying, bleeding, is this what they mean? Rubbing salt into a wound?_

The voice was not Will’s--though for a moment, Nico hoped it was and upon seeing it wasn’t, fought back the disappointment and blush on his neck.

No the voice belonged to her. The girl.

At it’s full length, her hair fell just past her knees, and Nico wondered what a pair of scissors ever did to offend her. She was standing, in front of Nico, watching him calmly, like it were a regular afternoon. Had she always been standing there? She wasn’t there a minute ago, was she?

“I’m sorry.” Her voice was hoarse, wispy, but held strength in the words.

Nico could read the genuine guilt in her eyes, but he was confused. Why was she apologizing and where were they? The girl didn’t move, but stood still like a statue, blinking and staring and breathing but saying nothing.

Nico hesitated. “For.. what?”

“It’s my fault.” She answered, head tilted. “It’s my fault that you’re here.”

“And where is here? This looks like the infirmary, but it isn’t.” Nico waited for an answer, but quickly spoke again. “And why does my head feel.. weird?”

The girl glanced down and shuffled her feet nervously. “You’re awake,” she said again. “But you’re not really.” She looked up and met Nico’s heavy gaze with one of her own.

_A flash of sandy hair, blood-matted and lifeless._

“You-- the real you-- are still sleeping in the infirmary. You’ve fainted, and the blonde one has been sitting in that chair for a long time waiting for you.” A small smile grew on her face, a stark contrast. “And you’ve been holding his hand.”

Nico didn’t even have to feel it to know that the redness was ever present on his face. He side-glanced at the floor and grumbled, “..yea so..” He shook his head and looked back at the stranger, fist clenching.

“Who are you anyway?”

_The sensation of running, blurred pictures of trees with snapped off branches, eyes like smoke and ice--_

The world shifted and glitched. Nico felt a strong dizzy sensation come over him, and he steadied his head with his hand.

**  
**  


“Ah,” the girl said softly, looking around at the morphing landscape. “You’re waking up. The real you.”

“Who _are_ you!” Nico shouted roughly, giving the girl a start. She found his eyes, and Nico was surprised to see her look so much sadder than she did before.

“I am Darcy.” She spoke so quietly, like the words were made of glass and if she said them any louder, they’d crack and fall apart. Darcy rose her head quickly and gave Nico a frightened glare.

_“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… “_

“But what dwells within me--what brought you here--isn’t. Don’t let her fool you, Nico, I don’t know her!”

Darcy’s image began to fade, the last thing to vanish being her terrified expression before he was thrown back into a world of color, and he was gasping and coughing next to a wide-eyed Will Solace.

**  
**  


\--

_Oh thank gods.._

“Nico? Nico, are you alright? Holy Hera, don’t ever worry me like that again!” Will pressed his forehead down on the bed, so incredibly relieved. What would he have done otherwise? May he never have to find out…

“If you ever do that again, I will _kill_ you di Angelo. Then revive you and kill you again.”

He heard Nico’s snort and lifted his head to look at him in the eyes. Nico’s eyes were dark brown, but they held a warmth to them. Will thought they made him look like a puppy, and that visual was just too darn cute-- he’s blushing now, he could feel it, and he’d hide his face, but Nico sort of had his hand in a head-lock, so instead he just smiled.

“Holding on pretty tight there, Death Boy.”

Nico scrambled his hand away. “I w-was unconscious alright?”

Will grinned and looked down at the hand that had been released. Nico was warm, and medically that was great. But it was great in a lot of other ways, too. Maybe he should tell him that. Eventually. Maybe.

“Is.. she okay?”

Will looked up again. “Who?”

Nico waved his hand off in the direction of the bed where _she_ lay. Will blew out a sigh. She’d caused a lot of trouble that’s for sure, but he knew he couldn’t exactly blame her for that. What she was wasn’t her fault.

“Ah, her? She’s still unconscious, but she’ll be fine. She usually is after these attacks.” He said.

“Attacks?”

“Yea,” Will rubbed the back of his neck. “Like panic attacks, except her screaming literally creates chaos.” He mumbled under his breath, “If we knew more about her..”

“She said it was her fault.”

Will spun around and studied Nico. The young demigod seemed shocked by Will’s sudden movement and jumped. Will opened his mouth and made unintelligible noises for a second until finally the words formed.

“She spoke to you?”

Nico gave him a confused face. “Was she not supposed to?”

“What’s her name?”

“You don’t already know it?”

“NICO!”

“Darcy! Her name is Darcy!”

Darcy. Will sat back in his chair, relishing in this new information. When they brought her in three months ago and she refused to give her name, he’d wondered about her. She came from nowhere, it seemed, and for the first few nights her crying had caused a lot of other patients pain. He wanted to help her, he was a doctor wasn’t he, he had to help her. But she never took her medicine, lashed out at the other Apollo kids, and even attempted an escape. (It was storming and she didn’t even make it past the Apollo cabin. Will personally had to drag her back inside.) Eventually she just clammed up and spent her days staring out the window. They didn’t even know if she had been claimed, or even if she had a cabin to go to, so Will figured it wouldn’t hurt for her to stay in the infirmary. Until they found out who she was or where she was from, they left her be.

Will told Nico this, keeping his voice low as to not wake the girl--no, Darcy-- as well as to keep his nosy siblings out of the matter.

“So,” Nico said when Will was finished. “Her godly parent gave her this chaos ability?” Will shrugged at him in reply.

“I mean, I’d assume so, but we don’t know who that is or how we can help her.” He sighed, stretching out his arms.

“More importantly, how are you doing?” He grinned at Nico. “You were out for awhile. That all happened two nights ago.”

Nico’s eyes grew wide and he cursed under his breath, sending daggers Will’s way. He looked _dark._

“And you stayed here the entire time?” Nico asked, though his tone was more accusatory than questioning.

Will avoided making eye contact, sheepish. Geeze he was really frightening if he wanted to be.

“Maybe.” He mumbled. Nico exploded, gesturing his hands with every word.

“Are you an idiot, Solace? Don’t you have more important things to do like, I don’t know, _eat_ or _sleep_ or _take a shower or something_? You know, _basic human needs?_ ”

Wha?

Was Nico actually scolding him for that? Will started to shake his head and tell the son of Hades how ridiculous he sounded, but was interrupted.

“You.. you know there are people who c-care about you right?” Nico said, twisting the skull ring on his finger. His eyes were cast downward, and his dark hair masked his face, but none of that mattered. It was in his voice.

Nico cared. Like a lot.

This revelation smacked Will Solace in the face and left it fire engine red and burning. _D-Does Nico know, then?_

The boy in question, dropped his hands in his lap and mumbled, “Like Lou Ellen. She’s your best friend, right.”

The flickering ember that was Will’s heart blinked out, leaving him to feel rather cold. _So that’s not what he meant.. so he doesn’t know.._

Was he supposed to feel relieved by this? He knew he’d liked Nico, every since he first laid eyes on the frowning son of Hades in the hawaiian shirt of doom, but he also knew that Nico wasn’t particularly… trusting. Reyna had told Will about that, and she said that if he was gentle, Nico might come around. But it’s been weeks and neither of the two had opened up to each other, about _anything._ Will was getting lost in his thoughts about it, and he was starting to have doubts.

_No. Pull yourself together, Solace. This isn’t gonna work if both of us just shut everything out._

Will chuckled a bit, and smiled, looking at Nico in mock suspicion.

“ _Only_ Lou Ellen cares about me? Are you sure?” He edged up the ends of his voice and squinted hard at the boy on the bed. “Are you _positive_?”

Will’s attempt at playful humor was met with a pillow smashed in his face and a disgruntled groan from Nico.

“Ohhhmygods shut _up_ Solace.”

“What?” Will pulled the pillow down and held it in his hands, ready to blow. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He threw it at Nico, skimming the side of the younger boy’s head and causing his hair to stick up. Will tried so hard not to laugh, failed, and laughed loudly.

Nico mussed with his hair in a panic, seemingly trying to curse Will in Italian, but stumbled on his words and turned pink. He just let his head drop in his hands.

Will’s laughter slowly teetered out and he sighed happily.

“Cute.”

Nico raised his head in alarm, and Will went stiff. _Did I-- What did-- Did I just say that out loud? ….Oh gods oh gods_ run.

“Did.. you just?” Will didn’t even let him finish, he abruptly stood and turned his back to him, wondering how much blood can even fit behind his cheeks anymore. Surely this amount of shame could kill a man.

“J-Just.. I gotta.. eh, go.” He took a step and then glanced back at Nico, who was still wide-eyed and red-faced. “I’ll get someone to bring you, uh.. something to eat, okay? Rest up, di Angelo.” He took another step. “D-Doctor’s orders.” Then he raced out of the infirmary, leaving a bewildered and extremely embarrassed Nico to sink under the bedsheets.

Once outside, Will doubled over and breathed deep. Was he nuts? You can’t just spring that kind of thing on someone! Not that he did it on purpose, and sure Nico’s reaction was just as adorable, but _no_!

He was cursed wasn’t he. Aphrodite cursed him to be a bumbling fool with a schoolgirl crush on the son of Hades and now she was up in Olympus somewhere, laughing her butt off, while Will was down on Earth, flushed of all color and flustered to his core. He couldn’t just go back in there, could he? Nico’s probably all dark and moody now and doesn’t want to see him anyway..

Will started walking. He had to find Reyna.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Questions? Comments? Concerns? soupella.tumblr.com  
> I'd love to hear what you guys think!


	4. Advice From an Honorary Big Sister

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a fluffy feely chapter, but IT GETS WORSE COME THE (one after the) NEXT ONE  
> and because the next chapter is so short, I might just post two that day  
> who knows  
> we'll see

_Cute._

Nico buried his face farther into his pillow, hoping that maybe he’d break ground and dig himself a grave. His face aflame, the son of Hades had thrown the sheets over him to keep the pink beacons that were his cheeks from signalling anyone nearby.

_Cute._

He cringed at the word, hands plastered over his face. He was not “cute.” He was the ghost king, son of Hades, master of the dark art of shadow traveling.

Alright maybe not a master, considering, but he survived this long didn’t he?

All thanks to Will.. Nico thought, lowering his hands and folding them in front of his chest. Will was brilliant, there was no denying, and he was always so driven to help people. But when it came to Nico, he seemed to go overboard, like holding his hand for two nights without food or rest.

“Idiot.” Mumbled the flushed demigod.

_Cute idiot._

Nico kicked the covers and squirmed, feeling very hot and very skittish.

Just what was he to Will? It was more than a patient, obviously, but what did ‘cute’ mean? As in ‘cute like a younger brother’ or ‘cute like a friend’ or ‘cute like a distant relative I don’t remember the name of?’

And what was Will to him? Nico didn’t even try to ignore the skeletal wings of the butterflies that danced maniacally in his stomach. Will was... a light. A beam of light in the inky darkness that overcrowded Nico’s head. Will was everything, it seemed. But this didn’t feel like it did when Nico liked Percy. With Percy, Nico didn’t feel any warmth, it was all electric and stormy, like a war between the sun and the rain, except nobody won.

When Nico confessed to Percy, he’d been rather blunt about it, and he was shocked to find it so easy. The feelings of affection were gone, but what remained was harder to shake. He didn’t hate Percy. But he didn’t love Percy. That was _it_ , essentially.

Then there was a certain son of Apollo with the golden curls and an entire sea in his eyes. He… liked Will. _Like_ liked Will.

Nico pushed the covers off of him, sitting up at his realization. He really liked Will Solace. His stomach did flips just thinking about that. So did Will like him, was that where ‘cute’ came from? The brown-eyed prince of the Underworld felt excitement and nervousness shoot through him all at once, and he wiggled where he sat.

_Unless.._

No no no no, no unless.

_Unless he did mean cute as in a younger sibling way…_

Nico’s eyes closed and he fell back against his pillow with an unsatisfying poof. Was Will Solace even… He rolled his eyes. Probably not, his best friend is Lou Ellen, and they probably have some ‘notice-me-senpai’ relationship going on, anyway. But he’d held his hand for two nights because he was concerned about Nico’s health, that had to say _something._

Nico felt a small tug on his shirt sleeve, and he looked over through hooded eyelids, hoping to gods it wasn’t Will. He’d even prefer Hae-Won.   
What he was met with instead was the unhealthily slim frame of Darcy, who, after seeing Nico notice her, took a step back, out of touching range. She was absentmindedly twirling a thin piece of hair, staring intently at the ground like it was more interesting. It wasn’t.

“He blames me, doesn’t he?” Her voice wasn’t as small as it was in his dream/vision/thing, but it wasn’t very loud either.

“Blames you?” Nico asked. “Who, Will?”

Darcy nodded, flicking her eyes sideways at a shadow on the wall.

“No, he seemed to be more worried than angry. It’s okay.”

She shivered to an unfelt wind.

“I’m sorry.”

Nico shook his head. “It’s okay,” he said again. “That’s your ability right? You can’t control it yet, that’s nothing to apologize for. Do you know who your godly parent is? Have you been claimed?”

The girl was silent for a while, as if contemplating telling Nico the truth or giving him a lie, and she seemed disturbed by the question. Nico watched her body language and then shook his head a second time.

“You don’t have to tell me if--”

“Lyssa.”

The answer slammed into Nico like a pillowcase full of bricks.

“Lyssa? As in, daughter of Nyx? As in, the goddess of madness?”

Darcy put her hands over her ears, voice scarce. “Madness and chaos and ghosts and I can’t control it and I’m sorry I’m _sorry._ ”

Nico cursed himself and threw his legs over the side of the bed, going to stand, but then Darcy took a step forward and held her hands in front of him.

“You shouldn’t stand,” she said, suddenly her face very hard. “Not yet.” When she was sure Nico was going to remain seated, she retreated back a step and let her hands fall to her sides. They were scarily pale-- no. They were near transparent.

Nico stared at them with a wide gaze. “Your hands.. they’re fading..” Darcy lifted them to inspect, and then furiously began rubbing them together, back into existence.

“Yes and no..” she mumbled.

“‘Yes and no’, what does that mean? Aren’t you fading?”

“Yes, but not in the same way you fade.” Her composure had completely changed. She no longer stood as though the ground could hurt her, she looked more relaxed.

“How are we different?”

“We aren’t, except if you fade away you’re gone forever and if I fade away I just become a ghost- a shell of my former self; no purpose, no soul, no heart.” She shook out her hands when they had been returned whatever color they had. “Goddess of madness and chaos and ghosts.” She repeated.

“So,” Nico tilted his head. “We’re a lot alike.”

Darcy recoiled. “My I hope not.”

The son of Hades studied the daughter of Lyssa. For someone who could cause chaos just by screaming, she didn’t hold herself like the offspring of madness. She just looked… tired. Like she once carried the weight of the world and, unlike Atlas, could not bear it any longer.

Darcy glanced behind her, noticing the stares and whisperings from the Apollo kids. They looked at her like they were seeing a

_ghost._

“We’re alike,” said the she-ghost at last, eyes narrowing in deep thought. “But we really couldn’t be more different.”

Nico blew out a sigh and sat back against the wall, crossing his arms. “How so?”

Darcy ignored the ghost king with a smile.

“The one with suns for fingertips likes you.”

One sudden shot of fire to Nico’s gut later, he gaped at the girl with wide eyes. _How did she.. what.. how in the name of Hades…_

Nico shifted uncomfortably where he sat, finding his skull ring on his finger and giving it a twist. He averted his sight somewhere to his left, cheeks warming considerably. _So it was obvious then? He.. likes me?_

Like a brother, he reminded himself. Still, Nico blushed.

“U-Um..”

“You two leave a lot of words unsaid.” Darcy took a slow step backward, turning around to leave. “Just say them, okay?” She left then, walking back to her side of the infirmary and toward her bed.

“Goodbye, son of Hades.”

Children of Apollo parted to let her pass, clutching clipboards to their chests and biting back gasps.

Nico blinked once. Twice.

This girl was going to be an issue, then, wasn’t she. In more ways than one, it seemed.

\--

Reyna hadn’t left for New Rome yet, thank the gods, and Will managed to spot the praetor at the archery range, standing by with her hands behind her back, watching thoughtfully as the campers raised their bows and fired at the targets. Will would bet five drachmas that Reyna could school every single one of those archers, though she seemed content enough to just watch.

“Reyna!”

At the sound of Will’s, albeit somewhat panicky, voice, the girl turned and spotted him quickly. She flashed him a smile as he approached, but her gaze held more confusion. Will couldn’t blame her, it’d been awhile since he last updated her-- or anyone-- on Nico’s condition. He didn’t want to know what she was thinking right now.

“Will,” Reyna said his name carefully, questioningly. “What’s up?”

“I messed up.” Will admitted it, silently kicking himself again. The look of concern on Reyna’s face washed away with a sigh and she waved her hand vaguely.

“Oh thank gods, I thought something was wrong with Nico.” She shot the son of Apollo a look of warning. There had better not be something wrong with Nico, they said. Will swallowed.

“Anyway,” Reyna continued. “What did you mess up?” Will’s head dropped and he kicked at the grass, like a child who’d been caught sneaking cookies before dinner. Reyna, sweet sweet Reyna, took Will by the arm and gently eased him away from stray ears and behind the nearest cabin.

She released him when they were alone and swiftly gave him a slap behind the head. It didn’t hurt much, but Will knew better than to provoke her further. Instead, he rubbed the spot where she hit with a grumble and lifted his head with the saddest, most desperate eyes he could manage.

“I-I…” His voice dropped and his words became mumbles. Reyna readied her hand to strike again and Will instinctively ducked.

“Speak up, Solace.”

“I accidentally said Nico was cute out loud.” Will peeked from behind his hands which were protecting his face, both from Reyna’s slaps as well as the heat that was radiating off of him in waves.

“A-and he _heard_ me and now he hates me.”

The wide eyes of the Roman softened somewhat, and she lowered her hand with a grin.

“Don’t be dense, Nico doesn’t hate you.” Reyna offered, then she shook her head and muttered to herself. “How can everyone see it except you?”

Will’s guard vanished altogether, and he watched Reyna with a hopeful look. What does that mean? He wanted to ask, but his brain to mouth fizzled out and left him opening and closing his mouth like a dying fish.

Luckily, Reyna just knew like she always does.

“We’re all pretty confident that Nico likes you back, Will. After Gaea and all, he looked a lot happier whenever you were around. It just seems obvious, I think.”

What.

Huh.

No no no hold on.

_What._

The apparent blush on his face couldn’t stop Will from asking, “He l-likes me?” His voice cracked a bit, and so his ears were burning, but it was no match for the spiraling flames curling in his stomach and threatening to burst from him in delighted giggling.

Reyna’s eyes rolled and she grabbed Will by the collar and began walking, dragging him behind.

“Wh-where are we going?” The words came from Will’s mouth, but he didn’t remember saying them, because oh my gods does Nico di Angelo really like me. Reyna laughed once, but kept marching forward, tugging behind her one flaming son of Apollo.

She tossed her dark hair back over her shoulder when she turned her head.   
“Back to the infirmary. Back to Nico.” At Will’s horrified expression, she gave him a sweet smile.

“Don’t worry, Will, just tell him how you feel and I’m sure he’ll open up.”

_Tell him how he feels, right. Got it._

_Gods no!_

Will wanted very much to break free from Reyna’s iron grip and hide for the rest of his life, as long as it meant he never had to tell Nico how he felt.

How would he react? When he heard him say he was cute, Nico didn’t look angry or anything. He looked surprised, sure, but his face was scarlet and those beautiful brown eyes were wide with confusion and Will could almost see the steam coming off the younger demigod’s cheeks. It was obvious Will had embarrassed the poor guy, but there was a chance, right? A chance that Nico thought that Will was cute too?

And what then? Were they just supposed to skip off into the sunset? Will was head of the Apollo cabin, which meant he was in charge of all these kids who looked up to him. Plus, he only ever really got to see Nico because he locked him in the infirmary under ‘doctor’s orders’, so when Nico gets better and has to leave… He could so easily just leave Will behind.

_Man up, Solace._ Will cursed himself. _You want this to work, right? That’s the whole point of this, isn’t it? Then do it! Tell that stupid, cute, offensively sweet, annoying as Hades ghost king how you feel!_

“O-Okay.” However meek his reply, Reyna didn’t slow down, and she eventually shoved him through the infirmary doors with a whispered,

“Good luck, sunshine!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> of blushing ghost kings and red-faced hot-heads


	5. Child of Chaos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :3c

Darcy liked to watch the rain.

Not that it was raining. In fact, it was perfectly cloudless outside, and the bright, warm sunny day gave Darcy a heavy feeling of gloom.

She was in the infirmary, where she always was, sitting up in her bed to stare out the window in envy. At least if it were raining, she wouldn’t be so tempted.

Young demigods outside were practicing their swordsmanship, thrusting and countering with all the elegance of a frog with a spork taped to his front legs. Darcy snickered to herself, remembering. She was an achieved swordsman, and had been long before she had forcibly settled in Camp Half-Blood. So had Dillon, actually, and the two of them used to spar in the woods behind their grandfather’s cabin, clashing their paired swords until the first sign of nightfall.   
Darcy’s sword was golden in color, and Dillon’s had been silver.

_Bloodied silver, withering gold._

Ever since she was little, Darcy would often find friends in odd places. She couldn’t be with Dillon always, so whenever he was gone, Darcy would simply find someone new. These new friends were special in ways she didn’t understand until…

Darcy turned herself away from the window. It didn’t matter how she found out about her ability.

She found her eyes drifting over and landing on the young demigod she knew as Nico, son of Hades. He was kind, regardless if he knew it or not, and he reminded her very much of Dillon, which was likely why she took to him quickly. They were alike, but this wasn’t a comforting statement.

_To battle one falls, lest the other falls cold._

Looking tentatively down at her hands, the young daughter of Madness rubbed them slightly, bringing blood back through her fingers. She gave a slight twist to the golden ring on her right ring finger, and the silver one on her left. She knew he was going through something similar, but she also knew better than to make a competition out of suffering.

Darcy refused to fade. She refused to become a moaning husk of her former self, and she refused to let this power hurt anyone else, ever again.

_For one shall rise from the ashes, with a power to boast._

Darcy hated it. She hated how vulnerable Dillon’s loss had made her, she hated how the shining-handed boy wouldn’t let her leave, and she hated how she couldn’t even mourn his death without someone around her fainting from the pain she caused with each bone shaking cry.

It started happening two weeks ago. She started seeing him, even if she was awake, and gods did it hurt.

He’d never say anything. Only stand still, in her sights but not really there. And Darcy could never bring herself to look at him. And then that night… it just became too much… and she was so tired.

With a violent rip, Darcy sent the bedsheets flying off the bed. She set her feet down on the floor, bending to gather her boots. It was quiet now, Nico looked lost in his head, and the other campers won’t complain, will they? They’d be idiots to question it.

She pulled them on with a sharp tug, then shrugged on the grey jacket riddled with tears. It wasn’t cold outside, of course, but she couldn’t leave it here.

Darcy slipped away from her bunk, pleased to go unseen by the child of Apollo who was sat, snoring loudly in her chair by the entrance. She poked her head outside carefully, and slithered out. Hearing footsteps dangerously close, Darcy ducked behind the side of the cabin and watched as a girl with long, dark hair who had a certain son of Apollo by the collar, toss him inside the cabin with a laugh.

_Child of Chaos, Madness, and Ghosts._

__

Darcy turned her head away, mentally calling out her goodbyes to Nico and his shining knight, wondering if she would be missed. She dismissed this thought with a frown, pulling up the hood of her jacket as she began walking. _It’s better this way,_ Darcy told herself, making her way to the Camp’s exit, to free herself. _No,_ she thought.

_To free_ them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> x3c


	6. Truly Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is so long why did I do this I am so sorry

_The one with suns for fingertips likes you._

That meant Solace, obviously, but what did it _mean_? _Likes me,_ Nico pondered. Surely it couldn’t mean it… _that way_ right? Will wasn’t… was he?

The troubled son of Hades fidgeted where he sat, pulling on his fingers and twisting his skull ring. He chewed thoughtfully on his lower lip before giving in to the bubbling feeling in his stomach and smiling into his hands. Nico wanted so much for it to be real, he wanted to find relief in this, and he really wanted to find it with Will. It didn’t work out with Percy, because he had a girlfriend and Nico had been young and stupid to think the son of Poseidon would ever give him a second glance.

But with Will… he felt something different. Like there was a chance.

But Lou Ellen… Maybe she was just a friend, right? That was a possibility, and Will never specified that he liked her or that they were dating, so one could say that they weren’t, couldn’t they? People are allowed to have best friends of the opposite gender, that’s why Nico had Reyna. She filled in this weird gap that Nico thought was going to be empty forever, so yea, he loved Reyna.

_But not like I love Will Solace._

He squirmed as a fiery shock went through him. _Love_? Did he _love_ him? All this time, he’d been panicking over this, and he didn’t even fully know what it was.

_Oh gods.._

__

“H-Hey… Nico?”

Will’s voice jolted the son of Hades, and he pulled his face from his hands to look at him, hoping to gods he wasn’t still burning to the tips of his ears. Not that it seemed to matter, Will looked pretty flustered himself.

He also looked winded.

“Um.. Yea?”

Will found Nico’s eyes, but Nico only got to see the rich blue marbles for a minute before the son of Apollo spun his head away again. His face was beet red, he was shuffling awkwardly on his feet and toying with his hands, and for the life of him, the demigod couldn’t seem to keep eye contact.

It was adorable. Curse him.

“So… eh, it’s been… um..”

Nico’s mouth edged up in a smirk, and he laughed softly. Will seemed startled by this, but the dark haired boy waved his hand vaguely, gesturing Will to continue.

Will hesitated, “You’ve been here for a long time, and um…” He seemed to steel himself, and then his resolve crumbled apart.

“I think you might be free to go.”

Nico’s grin slowly vanished, and he threw his legs over the bed and stood up. The sensation was dizzying, and his feet felt like they were stuffed with concrete, but he didn’t fall. He willed himself to stay standing, suddenly aware of his breathing. What was that sound in Will’s voice? He sounded… disappointed, like that wasn’t what he meant to say. The son of Hades swayed slightly, and then suddenly Will was there, one arm around his back and pulling one of Nico’s hands over his shoulders. The touching was a shock, but not unwelcome. Nico had grown used to Will’s touch, it was a comfort that he always sort of took for granted.

“Take it easy, Death Boy, you don’t need to sprint out of here, y’know.” His laugh was hollow, and his eyes lacked their shine, but he offered a smile anyway. That was Will for you. Smiling even when he’s clearly not in a smiling mood.

Nico frowned, throwing him a glare. If he wasn’t gonna say it then… oh gods. Nico gulped once and dropped his gaze.

“Just say it, Will.” He was surprised by his voice; it sounded so small and unsure and not at all like a ghost king. But right now, he wasn’t trying to be a ghost king. He was just Nico. Insecure, a little frightened, and a little peeved because if Will wasn’t gonna say it first, that just meant…

The son of Apollo blinked cerulean hues at the younger demigod, a faint pinkness rising in his face. He looked really uncertain, and said nothing, so Nico turned to face him. Will was only slightly taller than Nico, so he was looking up for the most part, and they were extremely close, what with Will keeping Nico from toppling over. It was Nico’s turn to blush.

“I-I mean I _think_ I know what you really wanted to say but… I can say it first. If you want.” He paused, watching Will’s face brighten and feeling his own burn hotly, but he didn’t turn his face away. He was so tired of running.

Nico took in a breath.

“I like you, Solace.” He said it quietly. “And not like a friend, I like you more than that, maybe I even…” Both boys were frozen, but Nico let the sentence die unfinished. “I’m hoping that’s what you wanted to say, anyway, b-but if it wasn’t and you aren’t like that then that’s fine too, it’s just, you’ve always really cared about me and I finally figured out that I--”

The kiss wasn’t hard, or pressuring, or dominating at all, because Will wasn’t like that. It was patient and slow and really, really warm. Nico wasn’t sure when he closed his eyes or started kissing back, but it really didn’t seem like Will was complaining. He adjusted, head tilting and his free hand lightly twirling the hair that fell over the back of Nico’s neck. It sent tendrils of warmth and fire through him, and he almost got lost in it, but then the reality dawned on him.

_I’m kissing Will Solace._

The shorter boy pulled away swiftly, being released from the kiss as well as Will’s steadying hold, and fell backward, tripping over his stone-heavy legs and sprawling onto the ground with an audible grunt. Shame had already colored his face, but he pushed himself to a sitting position anyway, and adamantly refused to look up at the older boy.

_Oh gods I’m such an idiot, this is so--_

Will’s laughter erupted and it was _loud_. Nico glanced up and watched as the blonde doubled over in a ridiculous fit of giggles, eyes brimming with tears, and face bright. Nico found his hands and promptly shoved his face in them, squirming uncomfortably. _He doesn’t have to laugh like a maniac._ _Hades help me, just put me out of my misery now..._

“Sh-shut up..” He mumbled. He felt someone settle down on the floor next to him, scooched in real close, and a head bop with his.

Will giggled, “Aw sunshine, that was sweet. And in answer to your unspoken question: yes.”

“...Yes?”

“Yes, I’ll go out with you.”

“I didn’t ask you that.”

“Hence ‘unspoken question.’ Don’t worry, I’ll be a good boyfriend.”

The word sent all sorts of new feelings through Nico, but he wasn’t opposed to it. He turned his head from his hands and looked over at Will, who had the softest look in his eyes. Not that he meant to, but Nico could feel his eyes doing the same. All the walls he’d built around himself collapsed into mounds of dust and dirt, and he could fill a part of himself letting Will in, inviting him into the mess Nico called his life. And for awhile, they just watched each other. As if if one of them took their eyes off the other for even a moment, he’d dissipate into nothing. And Nico genuinely hoped this wasn’t a dream.

“Nico?”

“Hm..”

“It was what I meant to say.”

Nico dropped his head onto the boy’s shoulder, finding his hand and entwining their fingers. He was smiling now, and he couldn’t stop because _this is really happening._

“Thank gods.” He answered, relishing in the laugh he got from his boyfriend. The son of Apollo plopped his head on top of Nico’s with a cleansing sigh. He smelled stereotypically like sunshine-- but also like something darker, smokier.

“But,” Will said in a low voice. “We should probably get you to your cabin, don’t you think?”

“Well, sure, but I can’t actually walk yet.”

Will lifted his head and gave the son of Hades a wink and a smirk.

“I got you covered.”

Nico swallowed thickly.

\---

“N-No no no, what if someone sees? Put me down. Will!”

Nico was struggling, but Will could tell that he wasn’t trying hard enough on purpose. He had the pouting demigod in his arms bridal style, and, too be honest, his light weight less than thrilled him. Granted, he was aware of the situations Nico had been in, so he knew why he was underweight, but he just added that to his list of ‘Things to Do With Nico.’ (Including but not limited to: more kissing, because _oh my gods._ )

Will shifted the younger boy’s weight around, getting comfortable. Nico was fuming and flustered and mumbling curses in Italian, but gods it was cute.

“So what?” He said, turning to walk out of the infirmary. “I’m just a good doctor, carrying his patient back to his cabin. You need to eat more, by the way. I could probably lob you across the camp.”

Nico didn’t respond, but growled under his breath and reached behind his head and grabbed his jacket hood, throwing it over his eyes.

Will chuckled, “Like nobody will recognize you that way.”

“Shut up.”

“The elusive Nico, in his natural habitat.” Will’s Aussie accent was passable, if not completely garbage.

Nico punched him in the chest lightly.

Poking his head out of the infirmary cabin, Will was truthfully disappointed at the emptiness. It was only, what, five in the PM? He stepped out without smacking Nico’s head against the door frame, beginning the trek to Cabin 13.

“Where is everyone?” Nico asked rather softly. Will shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe there was an emergency.”

“Shouldn’t you be there if there was an emergency?”

“Nah, someone would come get me if it was a medical thing,” Will answered, watching his footing. If he lost his grip and sent the son of Hades sprawling onto the grass, he was as good as dead. “Anyway, I didn’t hear any screams of terror earlier, so I bet it’s just one of the Stoll’s announcement. Probably spotted Sasquatch again.”

Cabin 13 was… intimidating to say the least. The Greek fire that burned at the torches on each side of the entrance cast an eerie glow against the obsidian walls. The interior wasn’t much better. Will had caught wind of Nico’s wish for a remodeling and asked Jason to spare some of his time working on the temples to grant it. The coffin shaped sleeping spaces were gone, but the color scheme remained, red and black peppered throughout the room. The only shocking factor was it’s emptiness.

Will pushed through the doorway and over to one of the bunks.

“Hazel left for New Rome?”

Nico was shaking his head beneath his hood. “I don’t think so. Not yet at least.”

The son of Apollo set Nico down carefully so he was sitting on the edge of the bed, then he nodded once.

“Yea makes sense. She’s probably just with everyone else, wherever they’ve gone.” He watched the younger demigod for a beat and then gently shoved his foot against one of Nico’s legs.

“You should be up and walking in a few days, maybe sooner. Being bed ridden only did so much good for you, sorry about that.”

Nico shrugged his response, silent. Will smiled and leaned down low, pressing his forehead against the other boy’s. A warm shiver went through him. Nico blanched, looking equally scared and bashful.

“I can do this now,” He muttered to himself, laughing quietly when Nico’s face caught fire. The blonde closed the distance between them, feeling Nico’s lips against his own, and he grinned. When the kiss deepened, Will couldn’t keep his hands to himself, and he found the side of Nico’s face with his fingers. Startled, the younger boy pulled back, cheeks flushed and head lowered.

“... S-sorry,” he said breathlessly, hands finding that skull ring on his finger and pulling at it. Will was frozen, but he thawed himself quickly and shook his head with a sweet smile.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Nico looked up at him, unsure. Will beamed back down at him, aiming to please.

“You can tell me if it’s too fast, y’know. I’ve waited this long, I can stand to wait for you a little longer.” If the dark eyed demigod had any answer to that, he didn’t give it.

Will wandered over to the other side of the cabin, taking advantage of the bed there and falling down on it. At Nico’s bewildered expression, he explained simply that, “I need to monitor you overnight, make sure you don’t start fading,” adding, “Besides, it’s our first sleepover, an important milestone in any relationship,” with a devilish smirk.

Nico lay back and rolled over at that, but Will caught sight of a small smile on the boy’s face.

They stayed like that, each at a respectful but within earshot distance, staring up at the darkened ceiling and just talking. Will recounted stories of the antics he and the Stoll brothers used to get into, like the cursed peanut butter incident, whereas Nico told him of things unmagical. He spoke of times when he and Bianca, back in their proper place on the timeline and considerably younger, used to go ‘exploring.’ Bianca would hide objects around the house, and they’d pretend they were great pirate adventurers, venturing into lands unknown, and for every household item Nico would find, Bianca would turn it into something amazing. She’d come up with stories for each, turning simple utensils into the forged weaponry used by miniature gnome people. Nico also mentioned his slight obsession with a card game called Mythomagic, to which Bianca never understood.

Nico seemed to shine when he talked about Bianca, Will noticed. He was gesturing with his hands more often, too, being more animated. He’d even dip into Italian without realizing, and Will _loved it._ He was a sucker for the romantic language and he knew it, and he had a startling idea that maybe Nico knew it too, because he could see the boy smirking around every delicate word. Will went crimson, turning his head away toward the window. It was darker outside, he guessed they’d been like this for about two or three hours.

“Hey, Nico,” He called softly. It’d been pretty quiet for awhile, he wondered if the son of Hades had already fallen asleep.

“Yea?”

Will turned on his side to see his boyfriend, who had done the same thing.

“You’re amazing.”

He couldn’t see in the dim room, but he would bet that Nico was blushing furiously at him, and the thought brought a smile to his face.

“For a Death Boy,” he added. A pillow directly to the face, as to be expected.

Nico groaned, “Shut _up_ Solace.”   
  


They’re breathing slowed to match that of the sky’s slow descent into darkness, and they fell asleep, out of each other’s arms, but each feeling warm all the same.

\--

If there was one thing Will wasn’t expecting that night, it was Nico’s screaming.

His eyes flew open, and he bolted upright with a gasp, a hand reaching up and clutching at his chest. The blonde couldn’t see Nico in the darkness-- they must have been asleep for only an hour or so, but Will knew the sun and how quickly its light extinguished. He couldn’t see but he could hear, and what he heard brought a twisting, coiling pain deep inside his chest. Nico must have been thrashing, for when Will collected his wits and stood, he felt the fabric of the bedsheets beneath his toes. And the _whimpering,_ Nico was in so much pain.

“Nico. Nico, wake up.” Will acted fast, making his way to the bed, hesitant to touch the shivering boy. “Nico, sunshine--.” He swallowed and pressed a hand to his shoulder. The reaction was immediate, Nico’s own hands lunged upward and caught the edges of Will’s shirt and pulled him down. The surprise attack tripped him and he fell _on top_ of Nico, but he very quickly rolled himself over to avoid getting kicked. He tried to find Nico’s hands in the dark, fumbling once he had them in his grasp. They were barely there, all shadowy and cold. Nico was very clearly crying and shaking, and Will was having a hard time trying to calm him. The son of Apollo hushed and cooed him to no avail, Nico’s hands becoming ice within his. He knew what was happening, and he had to do something _now._

**  
**  


Will threaded his arms around the boy’s chest, pulling him in tight against his, wincing as the frightened son of Hades punched at his back in an attempt to free himself. Once more, Will tried to soothe the writhing boy, only to be met with terrified cries. Will couldn’t take it anymore, he sent his father a quick prayer, then opened his mouth, resting his head on the top of Nico’s. Will drew in a deep breath, and began singing.

“Νάνι νάνι το παιδί μου.

Έλα Ύπνε ύπνωσέ το

και γλυκά ‘ποκοίμησέ το.

Έλα ύπνε ‘πό τ’ αμπέλια,

πάρ’ το παιδί μου από τα χέρια.

Πάρ’ το σύρ’ το στα μαντράκια,

να κοιμάται σαν τ’ αρνάκια,

να κοιμάται σαν τ’ αρνάκια,

να ξυπνά σαν τα κατσικάκια.”

By the time the song was sung for the third time, Nico had calmed considerably, a warm sleeping demigod in Will’s arms. Will felt his shoulders fall in relief, and he hugged Nico to him protectively. _Oh thank gods.._

He wasn’t aware of the dark eyes of the younger demigod, wide open and scared. He couldn’t see the burning face or the tear streaked cheeks. But Will felt the hand trembling against his chest ball his shirt in a fist, and he didn’t complain when Nico inched closer into him, nuzzling his head into Will’s shoulder with a shaky breath. Will felt the toll of it after that, and suddenly his eyelids drooped, body going completely slack.

“Wow,” He mumbled, head full of cotton. Warm, soft, sleepy.. “I’m… so tired…”

The son of Apollo was asleep in the next instant, snoring lightly, unable to hear the soft, “Thank you’s” the son of Hades was whispering incessantly in his ear.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and finally we have ourselves a smidge of solangelo c: I wondered for a bit who should say it, but I've read a lot of fics where Will confesses first, and it just felt important to me for Nico to do it. He's changed, and he's reaching out, and even though it's totally embarrassing he did it anyway and probably doesn't regret it. 
> 
> (probably)  
> (also here's the link to the song Will is singing, it's a Greek lullaby, something about goats but it fits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87CcglBAugA )


	7. Sunshine and Apples

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short but I stuffed a lot of fluff in there to tide you over c:

_Nico was standing in complete nothingness. Pitch black surrounded him, he couldn’t see where the floor ended and the walls began, but somehow he knew they were there. Locking him in, holding him here. It was cold as well, but not a cold like a winter storm, it was as cold as death, and it was suffocating him; putting frigid fingers around his throat and clawing, ripping the air from his lungs._

_This wasn’t the Tartarus Nico knew._

_Hearing footsteps coming from behind him, the young son of Hades spun to face the newcomer, feeling a jolt of fear as he recognized the face. Olive skinned, brown eyed, dark haired._

_It was him. It was Nico._

__

_The mirror image had his hands behind his back, walking in slow circles around the one whose face he copied. There was wildfire in his eyes, and his mouth was twitching in efforts not to laugh, and where Nico’s werewolf scars were on his upper arm, there was only clean skin. Nico felt his own hands reach up to his biceps, wincing at the sharp sting and pulling his fingers away to find them covered in blood. Fresh wounds._

_The doppelganger let loose his laugh, icing the air._

__

_“Pathetic.”_

__

_Nico shook his head and turned away. This was only a nightmare, wasn’t it? This can’t be real, none of this is real…_

__

_The doppelganger was in front of  him now, no matter where Nico tried to turn his head, he was there, laughing and shouting, “Worthless! Pathetic! Weak!” in a voice that was too much like his own._

_Then he was pushing at him, shoving him down when he attempted to stand up again, and smacking at his head, pulling at his hair. Nico would move to knock him away, only to be dropped from behind with a peal of joyous laughter and another string of insults._

__

_“Stop!” Nico screamed it, head pounding with rageful fire. It felt like his own body was turning against him, shredding him apart. It hurt, it hurt, gods did it hurt._

__

_“Or what, little brother?”_

__

_The voice had changed, and in place of his reflection stood Bianca. She had a bow and quiver over her shoulder, and was radiating a soft white light. Her eyes were narrowed in question, and she wore a vile smirk. This wasn't Bianca, this wasn't_ his _Bianca._

__

_She took a step forward. “Are you going to run? Again?” The words were dripping in accusation. Nico slowly shook his head._

__

_“I never wanted you to join them… You left_ me. _”_

_“And you let me walk to my death.” She spat at the ground near his feet, scowling darkly._

__

_“No…” His voice cracked, and he watched with wide eyes and Bianca’s hair turned blonde, her eyes faded blue, and she morphed entirely into another._

__

Oh gods… no please… I can’t, please…

__

_Will Solace tilted his head at him, looking confused. “You don’t honestly believe I could ever love you right?” He sighed, smiling. A tan, freckled hand ran through his hair, and he chuckled._

__

_“You’re a monster, Nico. You can’t be loved.”_

__

_You can’t be loved you can’t be loved you can’t be loved--_

__

_You’re a monster, Nico._

 

__

Nico gasped for air, adrenaline surging through him, but confusion forcing him to stay still. The darkness of the cabin shot panic through him, but he couldn’t thrash. He could hear a sound, a voice, and he felt something warm holding him and keeping him from escape. The tears were brimming, and he obliged to let them fall, straining to hear what the melodic voice was singing. If he could just _focus_ …  His breathing was ragged, but as the song continued, it evened out considerably, giving Nico some ease. The tenseness in his body ebbed away, and Nico swallowed thickly. All too soon was the song over.

“Wow…” It was Will’s voice. The demigod was lying next to him, arms holding onto him with his chin touching the top of Nico’s head. The son of Apollo suddenly felt heavier, breathing slowed, and Nico pulled himself closer to him, relishing in the warmth he was giving off in waves.

“I’m… so tired…” Will mumbled, going slack. He began snoring lightly, and Nico fit his head onto the other boy’s shoulder.

“Thank you…” He whispered, voice hoarse. “Thank you… thank you…”

\--

The rumor going around that Apollo kids being early risers proved to be false the following morning. It may have been Will was still worn out from his emergency healing session last night, but Nico sure as Hades didn’t mind.

They were still tangled together, pressed close with their ankles entwined and Will’s arms around the shorter boy’s frame. It was a lot of touching, Nico knew, but it was so comforting to be held like this. When was the last time anyone held him? He couldn’t remember any exact details, but it was a no comparison to being coddled by the actual sun himself.

Nico breathed in. Will still smelled like sunshine and something smoky. It wasn’t overbearing, it was actually quite pleasant. He leaned his face in until his nose was in the crook of Will’s neck and grinned. If every morning ever could be just like this one… holy Hera.

“... Nico, are you smelling me?” Will’s voice was low with drowsiness, but somehow it gave the impression that the son of Apollo was smiling madly, trying his best not to laugh.

Nico shot away quickly, putting about a foot of distance between their noses, face heating up. He caught a glance of Will’s sleepy eyes and grin and grimaced at the flash of heat that pelted him, looking elsewhere.

“I--”

“You were totally smelling me.” The bed-headed blonde inched toward the red-faced demigod, chuckling when Nico couldn’t move back any farther without falling off the bed. He grumbled Italian profanities, but that didn’t stop Will from grabbing him by the waist and tugging him back until they were chest to chest again. “Where do you think you’re going, Death Boy, I’m nowhere near done.”

Nico was hot everywhere, and he pushed at the older boy, straining.

“I wasn’t…”

“Yes you were!”

“No I wasn’t, Solace! Let me go!”

Will-- stupid, dumb, cute Will-- laughed at that, to which Nico told him to shut up it wasn’t funny. He was considering shadow traveling away, but he knew how mad Will would get if he “overexerted himself.” Instead, he just kept squirming against his hold, blushing wildly. He started shouting then, something about being held captive by a flaming lunatic, and suddenly his desperate yelling turned into uncontrollable laughter.

Will was tickling Nico on his sides and stomach, raking his fingers across sensitive ribs and making the son of Hades crack up and swat weakly at his boyfriend’s hands to get them off of him. He felt so _good_ like this. The heat intensified and expelled out of his mouth in peals of squealing. How long had it been since he _laughed_ for gods sake? It was such a strange sound to him, but he couldn’t stop, no matter how much he begged Will for mercy.

“St-stop! Will!” The words didn’t come out as threatening as he wanted them to, since he screamed them between fits of giggles. Every third laugh was paired with a snort, to which Will would smile, apparently proud to have discovered this.

Nico doubled over in an attempt to save himself, struggling for breath. “Stop stop stop!” He panted, and Will chuckled to himself, ceasing the attack on Nico’s dignity, falling back against the pillows with a long, satisfied sigh.

“Good morning.” He practically sang the words, and Nico straightened up, jabbing him once in the side for it. Will chuckled, wincing, but didn’t issue a second wave of tickling, so Nico dropped his guard, drawing in a deep breath. “Sooo…” Will drawled, turning his sun-kissed head and meeting Nico’s eyes.

  
“Do I smell good?”

Nico lobbed the pillow hard, hitting him right in the face. He heard a muffled sound of protest, but sat up, stretching out his arms. He wondered what time it was. It couldn’t have been past 10AM, but there was no way to be sure unless they got up now.

His thoughts were interrupted by the cabin door being thrown open.

Standing in the doorway doubled over and panting like she ran to Olympus and back was Hae-Won, her short, raven hair stuck to her face with sweat, and her dark sepia eyes wide with a panicked expression. She stood silent for a moment, catching her breath, before she lifted her head to find Will’s gaze, locking on tight.  

She didn’t even acknowledge Nico was also on the bed, but that didn’t exactly stop him from going scarlet anyway.

“Will…” She gasped, breathing in deep and trying her hardest to stand up straight. “She’s… gone…” Hae-Won seemed relieved to finally have delivered the news, but her face maintained a look of solemn concern.

Nico could see the questioning look on Will’s face as well as feel it on his own. Will shook his head at Hae-Won, not understanding. She watched him gravely.

“That… girl… Darcy…” Hae-Won gestured vaguely, waving her hand in the air. “She… ran off…”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> c, x


	8. Enter: Everyone's Best Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introducing a lovable daughter of Hecate~ c: (I'll post chapter 9 now too! bc why not)

Nico was having difficulties keeping up with the two Apollo kids. They were all legs these two, and one of their strides was at least two of Nico’s. While he was cursing his height, Will was biting his lower lip in thought and Hae-Won was elaborating on the disappearance of the daughter of Lyssa.

“We had held a meeting yesterday afternoon about it, but I knew you were busy.” She gave a frightened smile to Nico, and he suddenly felt horrible for how he treated her back then. He cast his eyes down shamefully. “I told Dustin to fill you in as soon as we got back to the infirmary, but the two of you were already gone. I don’t know why I didn’t think to check Cabin 13…” She added the last bit quietly, like she was kicking herself for missing the obvious.

Will shook his head, “It’s fine, it’s fine. She tried to escape once before and didn’t make it very far.” He looked at Nico, eyes the color of a calm ocean just before a raging storm.

“Did she say anything to you?”

Nico attempted to recall their conversations. They’d all been rather brief, but he never got the idea that Darcy would…

He found Will’s eyes.

“She said goodbye. But I didn’t think--”

Will raised a hand, stopping the coffee-eyed demigod from saying anything further. He looked to Hae-Won. Head counselor Will Solace was much more serious than clumsy, doofy boyfriend Will Solace.

Nico thought it was cute and horrible. The age gap between them _would be_ maybe only a year or two apart, but thanks to the Lotus Hotel and Casino, Nico was actually somewhere above the 80 mark. But watching the son of Apollo like this made him feel so much more like a kid.

“Did anyone see which direction she went?” Will’s face was screwed up in deep concentration.

Hae-Won shrugged, visibly worried. “Our best guess is she headed to New York and has plans to go back to… wherever it was that she came from.” Will seemed taken aback by this information, and he ran both hands through his hair.

“We need to go after her--”

“I’m going.” Nico interjected, happy to be of use for once. The son of Apollo opened his mouth to object, but Nico cut him off again by giving him the hand-- exactly like Will did to him.. “I’m going. She talked to me, she knows me, I think I…” He glanced to the ground and steeled his gaze when he looked up again.  

“I think I understand her. Why she ran. I can help.” It was a bit of a glaring contest between the two male demigods, and Hae-Won watched them both, shuffling awkwardly on her feet. Will’s jaw tightened, and he seemed like he wanted to explode into a tangent about how Nico “doesn’t need to overexert himself,” and probably something like “you need more rest, di Angelo,” but his resolve crumbled when Hae-Won very softly cleared her throat and said,

“That isn’t a bad idea, actually.”

She nervously adjusted the glasses on the edge of her nose, avoiding the icy look that the head counselor of Cabin 7 was giving her. She continued, rather bravely Nico thought.

“I’ve watched them talk before, and the patient-- Darcy, excuse me-- she seems calmer with him somehow. And ever since that last attack, she was actually improving. Without medication.”

Nico was astonished. This girl… was _affected_ … in a _positive_ way… by _him_. His head was reeling at the idea. The darkest and badest omen in Camp had healed someone? It didn’t make sense! Had he truly helped her? It felt more like she was trying to help _him_ \-- warning him not to stand after her outburst, advising him to just tell Will how he felt. And Hae-Won said she had been _improving_ , and all he did was talk to her-- No. He barely said a full sentence. All he did was listen.

“I’m going too.”

The voice came from Nico’s immediate left, and he jumped slightly, not quite expecting a space of air to have an opinion on this matter. Will didn’t seem remotely shocked, however, and Nico saw him instead roll his eyes.

“No you’re not.” He grumbled, rubbing at his temples like he was getting a migraine. There was a loud, objecting noise, and the empty space beside the son of Hades shimmered and unravelled, revealing a very stubborn looking Lou Ellen, daughter of Hecate.

She snorted and regarded Will with an angry stare. “Like you’re gonna stop me, sunshine.” Will frowned. “Anywhere you go, I go, remember?”

Nico felt the surge of envy settle in pink pools at his cheeks, but it withered when a gentle hand tentatively landed on his shoulder.

Lou Ellen smiled at him, brightly.

“Naturally, your boyfriend will join us. Right?”

Nico’s eyes went wide, Will audibly blanched, and Hae-Won giggled to herself, looking far too pleased. Lou Ellen dropped her hand away quickly, putting some respectable distance between the two of them, folding her hands innocently behind her as she awaited a response.

The son of Apollo lifted his eyebrows suspiciously, and cleared his throat awkwardly. It was the shyest Nico had seen him, and the sight of it let loose a new wave of skeletal butterflies.

Will was rubbing the back of his head, having a hard time keeping eye contact with his friend.

“S-so you… knew, then?”

Lou Ellen stared at him like he was the most precious, dumbest being in the known world.

“Oh, sunshine,” she shook her head at him, speaking slightly slower. “The whole camp knows about it by now.”

If Nico would have blushed any darker, he’d turn into a tomato, and having already been through life as a stalk of corn, the idea offered little comfort to the outrageously embarrassed boy. Will wasn’t faring any better, bright pink hues giving contrast to the abundance of freckles that littered his cheeks. Hae-Won was turning scarlet out of sympathy, and Lou Ellen was laughing generously.

_The whole camp… oh gods_ , Hazel.

It would be wrong to say Nico didn’t love his sister. They were children of the Underworld, they were comrades in battle, and they were best friends whenever the dust settled. Hazel was plucked out of time, and similarly Nico had flew decades into the future playing Mythomagic at that cursed hotel. They were a couple of misfits, sure.

Nico only worried that Hazel-- being already somewhat old fashioned in her speech and gestures-- would have a hard time believing that her brother was _gay._

_Does she even know what that is?_ Who knew, he had hoped once Frank had caught wind of his confession to Percy that he would have explained the matter to the daughter of Pluto, but there was no way to tell without bringing the whole situation up again, and the thought of that made Nico shudder.

He already knew that Hazel wouldn’t hate him for it. She was the most caring and kind individual he’d ever met, and she didn’t seem the homophobic type. She didn’t seem the prejudice type, period.

What worried the dark haired demigod wasn’t Hazel’s reaction to the notion of his sexuality, but her _curiosity._

She had once kept him awake for nine hours, questioning him about trivial aspects of his life. What his favorite color was (it was green), where he lived before all this demigod business (Italy, for the most part), and if he had to pick one food to eat for the rest of his life, what would it be and why (his mother’s home cooked anything.)

Hazel Levesque was naturally inquisitive, and whenever Frank or Piper weren’t around, Nico was her primary source for bugging with questions.

He could only imagine what she’d ask if she knew that he had a _boyfriend_ and it was _Will Solace._

“Relax, would you,” Lou Ellen drawled on, switching her gaze between the two flustered demigods. “For the most part, everyone’s happy for you guys. I saw that Roman praetor practically tackle Grace when he told her.”

Will and Nico cringed in perfect unison. Lou Ellen waved her hand dismissively, turning to look at Hae-Won.

“So it’ll be us three then, unless…?”

Hae-Won shook her head, looking almost disappointed at the idea of staying safe at camp.

“I can’t, someone has to keep Cabin 7 under control.” She adjusted her glasses, muttering something that sounded like, “Not that our Head Counselor ever handled that sort of thing…” The composed daughter of Apollo informed the trio that supplies lasting them two weeks were packed and waiting to be picked up at the mess hall. She then turned on her heel, and marched toward the infirmary, assuming her role as substitute Head Counselor Hae-Won.

Again, Nico felt a twinge of guilt for his first impression of Hae-Won. He was obviously very wrong in his assumption that she was a shy, soft spoken individual who got saddled with a job she didn’t ask for. Hae-Won seemed to be the shadow king as it were; assuming responsibilities others refused to take. She was stronger than she appeared, definitely, and Nico made a mental note to apologize whenever he got the chance.

Will cleared his throat loudly, gaining Nico and Lou Ellen’s attention. He had a determined expression, but he gave off an air of nervousness that only the son of Hades seemed to be aware of.

  
“Well,” said the blonde. “We’ll grab our packs tonight. And we set out tomorrow. We can train until then--” Will put a hand to Nico’s chest, stopping him from making his way toward the training grounds.

“Not you.”

“Why not me?”

“You only recently started walking again, di Angelo, I’d rather not push you.”

Nico huffed, glaring bullets at the son of Apollo. He clenched his fists, struggling to keep them still.

“I’m not fragile, Solace, I can still train!” Nico knew that Will’s intentions were pure, he knew that he really cared for him and whatnot, but gods, the fact that the two were now dating seemed to enhance Will’s protective nature-- not to mention that he is, by Camp standards anyway, a medical professional with Nico as his recovering patient. Plus, Nico seemed to think that him being  just generally overbearing was a part of his personality.

One eye-roll and small shake of the head from Lou Ellen confirmed that notion.

Will didn’t look scared of Nico; as Nico knew he wouldn’t be. He was comforted by this, but it also annoyed him to a degree. He relaxed his shoulders, sighing a tad obnoxiously, and then found Will’s intense ocean eyes again.

“I’m not fragile,” Nico repeated, calm. “But I won’t overexert myself, okay? No shadow travelling. I’ll stick to hand to hand and sword combat only.” He waited to hear Will’s answer to his request, only Lou Ellen side stepped in front of him, smiling at Nico widely.

“Good to hear! And if you do overexert yourself or you do shadow travel,” She was grinning when she said,

“We take turns killing you.”

Will leaned over to peek his head out, nodding once. “What she said.” Nico gave the pair a once over.

“Are… you supposed to be intimidating?”

“I can turn you into an ear of corn.” Lou Ellen said flatly. Nico’s eyes widened and he looked down quickly. _How did she know about that? Who told her!_

“Okay, okay!” He crossed his arms, grumbling. “I won’t hurt myself, okay?”

The daughter of Hecate and the blonde dork brightly grinned at each other, sharing a celebratory high-five.

  
_Idiots, thought Nico. I’ve volunteered on a quest with a pair of idiots._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yknow im only just now going back and renaming chapters, so dear me from June 3rd, fuck you why did you post an extra chapter do you know how backed up i am rn thanks for nothing ME


	9. Child of Chaos cont.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A pure Darcy chapter, with the introduction of a new character who helps the plot along really (not that I had a plot when I started writing this thing, it just sort of happened ???)

It still wasn’t raining.

Darcy recalled all too late that she hadn’t packed any provisions or blankets or a spare set of clothes or anything. She knew she could at least flag down a ride by the road and make it to the city, but without food or money for food, she wouldn’t be eating tonight.

Darcy reached this revelation with apathy, raising her head to study her surroundings. She was almost to the road-- she heard a few passing cars, and so far, she hadn’t been attacked by any demigod-eating beasties. This was a plus.

Her and Dillon used to camp out in the backyard when they were younger. The cloudless, light-woven sky above them and a quilted blanket wrapped around their shoulders, fighting the evening’s gentle breeze. It was as if every one of her senses were heightened tenfold. She could hear firebugs flitting through the cool air, the smell of dew, fresh on the grass, gave her a feeling of calm. Her eyes would catch the smallest of stars and give them names, so that she never may forget them. Darcy even _felt_ the ever expanding vastness of the universe, and it thrilled and terrified her. She still remembered his voice that night.

_“Darcy?”_ Frightened, yet somehow still brave. 

_“Dillon.”_

Dillon shifted next to her, sandy hair falling and shielding his eyes. He shivered, and Darcy tugged him to her, pulling the blanket around them both.

Dillon’s head rested against her shoulder. _“We’re really small, aren’t we? Compared to the universe, I mean.”_ Darcy shrugged slightly, hugging him tight.

_“Sure we are.”_ She cast her gaze skyward, pointing to the brightest star she could see.

_“But from a distance, that star is really small too, huh?”_

_“But it’s just a ball of gas, right? That’s what Uncle said._ ” Darcy bristled, not expecting such a response. Of course he would say such a thing, that swine. He was poison, to be avoided at all costs.

She cleared her throat, stiff. _“No, Uncle is a big ball of gas,”_ Dillon giggled at that, looking up at her. His light brown eyes were bright.

_“Stars are so much more than that.”_

**  
**  


The sound of screeching tires shocked Darcy out of her melancholic memories, and she instinctively crouched low to the ground, peering through the trees and at the road. She caught a whiff of burnt rubber and inched herself closer, just making out a dark green car, and an angry man inside, shouting profanities to someone standing on the side of the road.  

Darcy strained to see who he was yelling at, finding a woman with short, red hair and a bulking backpack on her back. Hanging loose from the sides were miniature pans and a thermos. The man in the car shouted something appalling about the woman’s bust size, to which she kicked at his side door. He drove away then, spraying pebbles and dirt at the redhead’s legs. Darcy moved a little closer, inspecting her.

She looked young, maybe somewhere in her mid-twenties, with a pixie haircut, covered head to toe in freckles. She had a tan, and was wearing a pair of cargo shorts with a tank top, combat boots tied up tight and muddied. A hiker? Around here?

“You can come on out, now, girlie.” She turned her head Darcy’s direction, her eyes a shocking shade of green. “Didn’t think I noticed ya, eh? Come on, then.”

Darcy was hesitant. Could this woman be trusted? What if she was a beast in disguise? It wasn’t as though she didn’t have any choices, she could always hightail it back to camp and… and tell them what, exactly? They’d lock her up indefinitely, and that would only enhance her pain. She didn’t want to hurt them again.

So Darcy stepped forward.

“Ah,” said the woman, a slight Irish accent leaking into her speech. “A young demigod approaches.” Darcy must have noticeably tensed, for the woman quickly added, “Not to fret, dear, I wouldn’t dream of harming a hair on your head.”

Almost absentmindedly she added, “And quite a lot of hair that is.”

  
Darcy had watchful eyes on the stranger in front of her, toying with the rings on her fingers. She wouldn’t hesitate if this person tried anything funny, and the thought almost scared her. The woman waved a hand, beckoning Darcy to follow, and made her way a little ways down the road, towards a pair of rocks.

She sat down on one, throwing her bag to the ground with a loud clatter, and then gestured for Darcy to take the other. She obliged, curious about the whole situation she found herself in.

“Where ya headed, love? Camp Half-Blood is in the opposite direction.” The woman spoke casually, sifting through her belongings and pulling out a sandwich in a baggie, tossing it onto Darcy’s lap before pulling out another. As grateful as she was for the food, Darcy was wary to touch it, waiting until the woman took a giant mouthful before nibbling on her own.

The daughter of Lyssa quietly thanked her.

She waved her hand again. “Don’t thank me, dear, I’ve got plenty to spare. Anyway,” She took a swig from a bottle of water-- Darcy didn’t remember seeing her have one-- and smiled kindly at the young demigod in front of her.

“Do you know where you’re going?”

Darcy shook her head.

“Not… really. Somewhere safe, I guess.”

“Safe? Well, Camp Half-Blood is generally pretty safe from what I’ve heard.”

Darcy tilted her head at the woman. “And how have you heard, exactly? Who are you?”

A small, simple laugh escaped the woman as she put a hand to her forehead. “Ah, I forgot didn’t I! How silly of me, ah. That tends to happen more often than it should, I’ll have you know.” She stood then, extending out a hand in formal greeting.

“My name is… well I’ve got quite a few, but they all sound the same. I don’t believe I have a Greek equivalent, so you can just call me Eri, if you’d like.”

Darcy was still, leaving the Celtic Goddess to stand with an arm outstretched, awkwardly using her other hand to keep it aloft.

She snapped to her wits quickly, shaking the hand of the deity, eyes wide.

_A Celtic Goddess… what is she doing out here?_

“Oof,” Eri mock-winced at Darcy’s grasp. “Quite a grip you’ve got there, lass.” They dropped their hands at last-- Darcy a bit quicker, looking all the more flustered.

“Don’t give me that look, I hate that look.” Eri blew out the words, stretching her arms behind her, so relaxed.

“You’re…” Darcy was still standing in complete awe.

“Yes.” Confirmed the Goddess.

“And I’m…”

“Darcy Devlin, daughter of the Greek Goddess Lyssa. Yes, I’m well aware.” She gave the young demigod a playful wink. _  
_

Darcy almost cried with joy at the familiarity, and the words began to pour out of her mouth in her mother language. She told her how lost she was, and how desperately she wanted to get away from the camp. Eri had, of course, asked why, and Darcy told her happily. She spilled her heart out in front of this Goddess, and Eri didn’t seem bothered by it. In fact, she was listening intently, letting the girl vent out what had obviously been forced in for so long.

When she had finished, Eri was nodding with a solemn expression.

“I understand, I think.” Was all she said, before tugging two large sleeping bags from her apparently depthless pack. She led Darcy to a nice patch of green, way away from the road, and set them up, gesturing for her to make herself comfortable at this makeshift campout.

Eri had her arms crossed behind her head as she lay, face up toward the darkening sky. Darcy was nestled in her sleeping bag like a caterpillar, only the tips of her eyes visible from under the flap.

“Go to New York, Darcy.” Eri said, voice slashing through the air of peace that had settled over them. “I’ll give you everything you need, but go _there_.” She gave the girl a glance, and Darcy knew it to be of pity.

“You have not deserved to suffer so much,” the Goddess said softly. “It isn’t natural.”

 


	10. What a Great Plan, Honestly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one of the better, fluffier chapters ~

Will was nervous. It wasn’t so much about Darcy and her well-being, and for that he felt slightly ashamed. He found himself much more worried about his thick-headed, insanely attractive boyfriend over doing it in the heat of the moment. If Nico went down and Will couldn’t get to him in time…

_No._ Will shoved the thoughts back to the recesses of his mind. _He won’t. I won’t let him._

At the moment, Will was supposed to be taking inventory of all of their equipment. He had the packs out on the grass in front of him, and every now and again he’d glance down to see what they had: two weeks worth of food, sleeping bags in each pack, a couple of drachmas, and spare, butt ugly orange camp t-shirts.

But what was really holding the son of Apollo’s attention was Nico.

Nico and Lou Ellen were sparring; Nico with his Stygian iron blade, and Lou Ellen with one of the standard practice swords. As a rule, neither were allowed to whip out their special abilities, leaving the two of them with only their weapons and their wits. Lou Ellen wasn’t much for this sort of combat, what with her ability to manipulate the Mist being her specialty and all. Not that she was completely helpless, however.

The daughter of Hecate had won several times, without Mist-bending. She was quick, and had an eye for finding patterns in Nico’s technique it seemed. He had a favoring to thrust left, slash right, then fake left. Lou Ellen figured this out pretty quickly, knocking his obsidian black sword out of his hands with a swish and flick.

“Try something different, you’re too predictable.” Lou Ellen was saying as Nico snatched his weapon from the ground for the umpteenth time.

Surprisingly, the boy seemed to be holding his cool. At least, better than Will would have. But to be fair, Lou Ellen would probably turn him into a guinea pig _again_ and he’d have to scurry around craving raspberries until she was done laughing.

Nico nodded, cheeks flushed and sweat trickling down the side of his face. Will forced his head down, going to the pointless task of counting drachmas if only to _calm down because_ gods.

He let his mind wander away-- on a short leash, mind you-- and found himself thinking about Darcy. She was certainly different, though she reminded him of Nico. Or at least, the Nico that also ran away from camp. The one whose eyes were just pools of ache and fatigue. That Nico still lingered in his Nico, Will knew, but his eyes now were free of melancholy. When he was awake, that is.

That nightmare had scared the Hades out of Will. He’d never seen Nico so panicked, so desperate to wake up. It took the blonde by the heart and squeezed until it all burst at once; anger, guilt, and _fear._ What could he have done in that situation? Sure, Will managed to calm him eventually, but what if it gets worse? What if Nico goes dark side?

 _Shutup!_ Will kicked himself. He shouldn’t be thinking like this, Nico was not going dark. Not if he had anything to say about it, anyway.

“Are you going to train? Or are you just gonna bask in the sun all day?”

Nico was standing over him, his weapon of choice slung over his shoulder like it was harmless and his burnt-wood colored eyes locked on to the older demigod. He reached out a foot, nudging Will’s knee with it, almost grinning.

“C’mon Solace, fight me.”

Will smiled at that, but shrugged with a look of defeat. “Love to, sunshine, really, I would.” He waved his hand off in the general direction of the archery range. “But I’m afraid you’re just not my type, it seems.”

The son of Hades’ blanched, to which Will choked back a laugh, pushing himself to his feet, wiping off dirt from his pants. He set his eyes on Nico, expression soft, and hooked an arm around his neck, reeling him in for a quick peck in his hair.

“That was so low of me, I know. Maybe you’ll forgive me?” He was nosing around Nico’s hair, breathing him in. He smelled like sweat, naturally, but there was that other scent. The one that’s unique only to him. It was sort of apple-y.

A lame attempt at a shove and a mumbled “Shutup Solace” was his reply.

A wild Lou Ellen appeared, slinging an arm around either demigod’s neck, pulling them down for a group noogie. Both Nico and Will couldn’t help but laugh.

She released them with a satisfied ‘hmph!’ and set her hands on her hips, clearing her throat.

“So,” she said. “Do we even have a plan?”

Will cast a look to Nico, who bit his lip as if to say, ‘ _Are we_ supposed _to have a plan?_ ’ The son of Apollo felt small under Lou Ellen’s glare, but he offered a faint shrug anyway.

Lou Ellen scoffed, appalled. “So, what? You just thought we’d find this girl and drag her back here kicking and screaming?”

Crap. Will really didn’t think this through. Darcy wasn’t a runaway pet, they couldn’t just bring her back no questions asked. She was, first and foremost, a person, after all. As much as it complicated the matter, Darcy had a choice. She wasn’t actually obliged to come back to camp.

“Didn’t you catch her one time she ran away?” Nico was looking at Will. Will ran a hand through his hair.

“I mean, yea, but she was in bad shape and it was raining. She wouldn’t have lasted the way she was.” He tossed his glance to the ground, brow furrowing in thought.

“There’s no telling how capable of herself she is now, I guess.”

“She isn’t weak.” Nico’s eyes were dark and staring at nothing. He had caught Lou Ellen’s attention, as well as Will’s. “Whenever she… her power is strong, and she can control it.”

At Will’s unbelieving expression, Nico added softly, “To a degree. I’m surprised she didn’t kill me first time around, the state I was in. She, even if she doesn’t know it, has some sort of reign on this ability.”

Woah woah woah. Rewind and pause.

“She almost _killed_ you?” Will could taste the venom in his voice, but he struggled to maintain his composure. _It’s not her fault_ , he kept reminding himself. _She doesn’t know._

Nico seemed hesitant to place his hand on Will’s shoulder, but he must’ve felt it was necessary, because once it was there, it squeezed rather sharply.

“But she didn’t. I’m alive, Will, look.” Will did, feeling his anger dissolve in the brown pools of Nico’s eyes.

“Are you okay?” He asked quietly, tossing a nervous glance to Lou Ellen, who was watching the scene unfold with shameless delight. Nico swallowed once and nodded, dropping his hand.

“I’m alive,” he repeated, giving his boyfriend a grin. Will decided he was going to pretend to believe him, smiling. He looked to the daughter of Hecate, who had a bag of popcorn in her hand. When discovered, it promptly melted into Mist.

“So,” Will snatched Nico’s hand into his, waffling their fingers, smirking at the giggling Lou Ellen. He heard a small grumble from Nico, but considering he leaned into him, Will didn’t put too much thought into it.

“You have a plan, I take it?”

Lou Ellen’s eyes shone dangerously and a frightening twitch of the lips gave the two demigods their answer.

**  
**  
  
\---  
  
  
  


“... That’s it?”

They were all in the mess hall, sitting at one of the empty tables further from the dining campers. Will next to Nico, and Lou Ellen across from the both of them. Nico would be lying if he said he wasn’t eruptively pleased that the son of Apollo had yet to release his hand. Not that that mattered right now. More pressing matters, _focus, Nico, focus._

Lou Ellen smiled proudly, posing as though she’d slain a mighty beast, thrusting her fork as though it were a scepter. Will had a dumbfounded look on his face; his eyes narrowed in forced concentration and his mouth slightly agape. It was stupid. And adorable. Nico, however,was downright confused. He asked again, “That’s it?”

“Yes.” She was still smiling, though now her fork was raking up the rice that was on her plate.

“So,” Nico shook his head, loosening up his thoughts. “Let me just get this straight: Our plan… is to find Darcy… and _talk_ to her?”

Lou Ellen gave him a nod and an almost tired expression, mouth too full to confirm verbally. Nico turned his head to Will, who still appeared to be a lost puppy, and then turned back to Lou Ellen.

“And that’s _it_?”

“Yes,” She said testily. “We can’t force her back against her will, we don’t even know why she left in the first place. _When_ we find her, we just need to talk it all over, find out what her plans are, and-- if we can-- help her with them. If she wants to come back, she will..”

Nico was at a loss. He very well didn’t have any alternative suggestion and he knew it. Plus, what was he expecting? A quest? The training sort of hinted at the battle between demigods and monsters, but that was precautionary. Once they set foot out of camp, their demigodly scent will fluctuate and lure in all sorts of bloodthirsty creeps. Naturally, they had to be prepared, but with Darcy as an added variable... She was unpredictable, her mental state was unknown, and she might just live up to her mother’s reputation.

_No._ Nico thought. _The Darcy I met was a scared, strong person. If she left camp, it was probably because she truly believed that she had to. That she didn’t have a choice._

He shared this idea with the others, avoiding their sights. To be quite honest, Nico empathized with this girl greatly. She was essentially Nico, version two, complete with the fading feature.

He clenched and unclenched his hands, noting their warmth. The last time he starting fading was that nightmare in his cabin. He wasn’t a fan of it, understandably. The air being vacuumed out of his lungs, the stabs like ice into his skin. It hurt, in so many more ways than it needed to. In  so many more ways for the average demigod to comprehend...

If Will hadn’t been there, Nico would have died. Easily. It was odd to think of life like the fragile thread of glass that it was. It only took a puff of breath to send it flying, or an accidental tug to bring it crashing down.

Not that Nico took it for granted, he knew he had to pace himself. If he overdid it, there might not be any more close calls…

Snapping fingers jostled him from his thoughts, Will giving him worried looks. Nico shook his head, meaning to say that he was fine. Lou Ellen watched them both for a moment, then picked up the conversation.

“This isn’t going to be easy, y’know?” She was chewing her lower lip nervously. “If Darcy wants us to leave her alone…”

“We have to tell her that she doesn’t deserve it-- being alone.”

Will seemed surprised by the edge to Nico’s voice, and Nico avoided his gaze. No doubt the son of Apollo was staring at him like if he so much as blinked, that he’d break apart.

Nico continued,

“She’s not dangerous, she’s just scared.” Lou Ellen was nodding solemnly, eyes knitted in thought. Will’s gave Nico’s a small, reassuring squeeze.. Will was worried, this much was clear. He was probably freaked out, thinking that Nico would break his promise and go overboard with the underworld stuff…

Nico threaded his fingers through Will’s, face warm. “It’ll be okay.” He mumbled, stabbing a fork down onto his plate.

He heard a muffled ‘mhmm’ and felt the simple peck of the lips in his hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> coming up with chapter titles is getting harder since I stupidly decided to do this theme thing? why did I do this whhhyy  
> \--  
> NEVER FEAR PAST ME THIS IS FUTURE YOU SPEAKING I AM RENAMING THE CHAPTERS DONT YOU EVEN WORRY ABOUT IT


	11. Edges and Parachutes

So Darcy left.

Erecura was good to her word, giving the young demigod more than enough supplies to reach New York, including one cerulean marble. Eri called it a pearl, saying she managed to swipe one from a sea god. She told Darcy that the pearl, when crushed, would transport her anywhere-- so long as it was close to a body of water. This gift, Darcy accepted curiously.

She was meaning to ask the Goddess why she had to go to New York, when where she truly wanted to be was home. Unfortunately, the freckled, red-headed windstorm blew out of her reach as soon as Darcy bid her farewells.

It still wasn’t raining, but the air did feel cold for a Summer’s morning.

**  
**  


\--

**  
**  


Will fiddled with sleeves of his jacket as he walked towards Cabin 13 in the 3AM darkness. He insisted he monitor Nico again last night, just in case he had another nightmare, but the younger demigod refused, claiming, “neither one of us would be able to fall asleep if the other is in the room” as well as “I’m not a baby, I’ll be fine.” It went without saying that Will was disappointed, but his worry ran deeper. He barely slept anyway, just thinking about Nico alone in his cabin. And after kicking and rolling around on his bunk for a couple hours, he couldn’t take it. So here he was, sneaking over to check on his boyfriend.

What a cliche.

_He’s not alone,_ he reminded himself. _Hazel’s still in camp, she’s probably with him._ From what Piper McLean told him, Hazel had been sleeping over at her cabin while Nico was in the infirmary. The decor seemed to put the girl off a bit, and she wasn’t comfortable in there by herself. The night of the nightmare, Hazel was with Piper and the others at the meeting about Darcy, so she hadn’t known Nico’d been cleared for leave and ended up back in the Aphrodite cabin. Poor girl.

The son of Apollo tossed out a sigh, Cabin 13 and all of it’s gloominess in his sights. Was he being overprotective? Probably. What if Hazel was there, would she kick him out? Who knows. She is his sister for Zeus’ sake. She had every right to be angry that he’d broken into their cabin just to check on his no-longer-patient patient at such an hour.

The greek fire by the entrance seemed to burn indefinitely, despite the slight chill in the air. Will swallowed, pushing open the door slowly and carefully, though it squeaked anyway.

It’s pitch black, as one would expect, but Will heared a small gasping sound from inside.

“Hazel? It’s Will, sorry to--”

“W-Will?”

Nico’s voice was quiet and shaky. Upon stepping inside and adjusting to the dark, Will can make out the huddled shape of the son of Hades on the floor. His heart quickened in his chest.

“...Hazel… she’s at Piper’s…” He sounded so defeated, and so terribly tired. Will walked cautiously over, feeling blankets underneath his shoes. So Nico fell out of bed it seemed…

He held out a hand, hoping the boy could see it. “C’mon then. It’s not healthy to sleep on the floor, y’know?” He tried his hardest to keep the concern from his voice, but he choked on his words last minute, coughing. Nico seemed reluctant, but a hand appeared in his own eventually, and he held on, pulling upwards.

The hug was unexpected.

Nico seemed shocked by it as well, muttering an apology and pulling away as quickly as he’d pounced. Will felt himself pulling a tight grin, still holding the boy’s hand. It was damp with sweat (tears?) and shivering.

Very gently, Will said, “So, back to bed?” He wished he could see the blush on Nico’s face, but there were more pressing matters. Like getting him back to sleep, for one thing.

He crawled back onto his bunk without much complaint, trailing the blankets behind him until Will gathered the excess up in his arms and threw it all on top of him with a small chuckle. There was a small groan of protest, then the sound of Nico falling back onto the pillows.

Will stood by awkwardly, fiddling with his sleeves again. “You alright, Nico?” He asked finally.

“... I’m alive.” There was an edge there.

“That’s not the same thing and you know it.” Will stepped off it, willingly.

Silence swelled in the cabin, Will stubbornly refusing to speak unless Nico confessed. He’d been shaky before the last nightmare, and now suddenly he wouldn’t confide in Will? His “doctor?” His…

“Nico--”

“Will…” His voice couldn’t have been higher than a whisper. “Can you… um…”

Will waited for a beat, though he already knew the question, as well as his answer. With an over dramatic sigh, the blonde moved to make himself comfortable on the free bunk in the room. The hand snatching his wrist, however, stopped him cold.

“N-No, I mean, uh... “ Nico shuffled over, dragging Will’s arm with him. There was a rush of terribly warm realization and Will stuttered out an, “O-Oh..”

He pulled his arm back carefully.

“If I do,” he swallowed once. “Will you let me help you?”

Nico stared blankly at nothing, and with flushed cheeks admitted, “This will be helping me.” But very quickly he added, “W-we can talk, if that’s what you mean.”

Will probably scared the daylights (nightlights?) out of the young demigod by falling onto the bed with a loud, satisfied sigh. He snuggled under the blankets easily, turning his body to face Nico, and with a hand to his cheek, holding up his head, shone a smile his direction.

“You’re an idiot, Solace.”

“Aw, sweet sunshine.”

Nico, though he tried to hide it, smiled and pushed himself closer, tucking his head under Will’s chin.

“Goodnight.” He said cheerily. Will knocked his head into the young Italian’s, gaining a grunt in response.

“Hey hey hey, this was not the deal.” Arms looped around his back, and suddenly Nico was latched on like a koala to a tree. Will shifted, frowning slightly. It’d be cute if it weren’t so worrying. Something was wrong.

“Nico, c’mon.”

Nico was shaking his head, holding tight.

“Hey--”

“Can I.. promise to tell you later?” His voice was muffled by Will’s shirt.

Will moved around, a feeble attempt at freeing himself. “Nico…”

Nico stiffened, shaking his head against Will’s chest again. “Later.” He mumbled.

Will stared for awhile at the top of his boyfriend’s head, debating on whether or not he should bring it up again. He didn’t want to fight with Nico, but he only wanted to help, and that was good, wasn’t it?

He found his hands wrapping around the frame of Nico, submerging a hand into the sea of dark hair with a grumble.

“You can trust me, y’know… Gods, Nico, you need a haircut. Or a ponytail. And when’s the last time you ate an entire meal? I could snap you in half if I squeezed hard enough.” Will was rambling, voicing his concerns mindlessly. He went down his mental list, asking Nico if he’d ever gotten a flu shot (no), if he’d be bothered to have to get one (yes), and if he maybe had a fear of needles (one pillow to the face for Will Solace. He took it as yes.)

Though they both fell asleep warm and grinning, Will could already sense the storm clouds approaching during the night.

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> been feeling a little under the weather lately so just in case it takes a bit to post the next chapter, I hope you can survive on this! (and if you want any updates or have any questions send them to soupella.tumblr.com !) 
> 
> (Also so far there has been a lot of angstish Nico with Will doing all the comforting... don't get too attached to that ;3)


	12. Another Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello~! This chapter was originally longer but I decided to chop it up a bit for appearance sake. Also! I'm doing this thing where I have to write a chapter ahead in order to post the next chapter on here, so if you want to bully me into getting busy, you know where to do it. (soupella.tumblr.com)
> 
> (and that might actually work who knows I've been known to give into the pressure of others)

They woke to rain.

Not that it was uncommon for it to rain in the summer, but Nico found it rather off-putting, given that today was the day they were leaving camp. He tried to ignore the clawing feeling in his gut, and focused on the task at hand: Finding Darcy.

Due to the problematic weather, not every camper was out to wish them luck on their journey. Nico stood next to Will, who stood next to Lou Ellen, and lined up in front of them were all of their friends. Percy was there with Annabeth, holding hands with solemn expressions etched onto their features. Honestly, they couldn’t hide their emotions any worse.

“So, uh,” Percy rubbed the back of his neck. “Stay safe out there.”   
Annabeth swatted at his arm instantly, stormy eyes flashing in warning. She hugged Nico briefly, saying how she wouldn’t forgive him if something happened.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered to her. “You can take it out on him.” Nico jabbed a thumb in Percy’s direction, and Annabeth laughed at that, nodding. Percy looked wounded, but was grinning all the same.

Frank stood beside Hazel, his eyes soft while hers were more sharp. Only minutes ago she’d snatched Nico by the sleeve and pulled him aside, and with a demanding tone said, “Don’t you dare get hurt.” He’d hugged her tightly, in an attempt to reassure her, but she shed a few tears anyway.

Zhang was a little awkward about the goodbye; going in for the hug, then settling on a handshake. He’d smiled like a goof, but Nico appreciated it, telling him to take care of his sister.

Piper ruffled Nico’s hair a bit, muttering something about a haircut but then pulling it up for him anyway. She examined her work, had a hard time controlling her facial expression, and ended up glaring daggers at Will, who looked hilariously terrified.

Jason crushed the boy in a hug, his glasses getting speckled with raindrops.

“Don’t overdo it,” Jason said. Nico nodded against his shoulder. The son of Jupiter pulled away, holding him at arms length.

“I mean it.”

“Di Angelo!” Nico jumped as Reyna pushed past Jason, looking furious. “You were about to leave without saying goodbye to me?” She demanded, eyes like fire.

Nico struggled for words, but instead made incoherent noises.

“Well,” Reyna blew out a sigh, opening her arms for a hug. “I guess it’s more of a ‘see you later’ type thing, huh?”

They embraced longer than the rest, Reyna threatening to curse Will if he tried anything, causing both boys to go crimson. Nico complained when she wouldn’t let go, sending the other demigods into fits of laughter.

As he pleaded for his freedom, Reyna cooed at him like an overbearing older sister, earning more giggles from the group. She let him go after a quick peck on the cheek, turning to Will and Lou Ellen. The Roman praetor gave Lou Ellen a smile, mumbling curses in Will’s direction, and then backed up to join the rest of the demigods wishing them farewell.

Hae Won was among them, along with a rather short brunette boy with powder blue eyes. Will introduced him to be Dustin Santiago, a newbie within the Apollo children. Dustin very excitedly hugged Will goodbye, giving Nico a shy wave, and avoiding Lou Ellen altogether. Hae Won elaborated on this, explaining to Nico that Lou Ellen once turned him into a rabbit when he refused to give up information for her. Will seemed embarrassed by this, quickly changing the subject by bidding his shadow king goodbye.

“Everything will be fine, sir.” Hae Won promised, pushing up her glasses to a degree.

As for Lou Ellen, she was seen off by Cecil, son of Hermes, and a pair of twins; Wirt and Mabel, children of Demeter. Cecil and Lou Ellen’s goodbye’s were brief, but they each held a mischievous glint in their eyes, suggesting more was said then they were letting on. The twins, however, trapped Lou Ellen in a hug sandwich, holding her there until Will cleared his throat as a signal that it was their time to leave.

“Well,” he said, throwing a look up at the sky. It was sprinkling still, and the clouds huddled together compact. “We’ll be off, then. Try not to miss us too much.”

Everyone chuckled at this, watching the trio adjust their packs and head for the threshold that marked where Camp Half-Blood ends, and where everything else begins.

\--

“I’m. So. Tired.”

Lou Ellen’s feet dragged, toeing up mud and dirt and grass as she stumbled lazily behind the boys. Will huffed out a sigh, throwing a glance her direction, blonde curls shaking.

“No you’re not, you just want me to carry you.”

“And why won’t you?” Lou Ellen whined, snapping twigs as she ambled along.

“I’m saving my strength,” Will said, grinning. “For when I have to carry Nico.”

Nico tripped, cheeks brightening and eyes growing wider. What does _that_ mean? He swallowed,

“No one is carrying me!”

Will bumped the younger boy with his shoulder lightly, chuckling to himself. “Oh, c’mon, I’m only teasing.” He reached over and tugged at Nico’s ponytail.

“Unless of course--”

“NO.” He swatted the older boy away, blushing deeply and fussing with the back of his head.

Lou Ellen appeared then, arms falling onto both of their shoulders. As far as height went, Nico was the shortest by only a few hairs, then Lou Ellen, and then Will.

“I don’t know,” Lou Ellen’s voice had a singsong tone to it. “I bet if we combined our strength, we could carry you on a throne.”

Nico blanched, scrambling away from her hold on him. “N-No thanks.”

“Every Ghost King needs a throne.” Will chipped in, smiling in a way that reminded Nico of Valdez’s smirk whenever he had an idea…

Leo Valdez had been… a friend? Sure, he occasionally annoyed the Hades out of Nico, but the guy had his moments of pure unselfishness that were as equally surprising as they were refreshing. He was a loose cannon, a bomb constructed entirely of coca-cola and mentos. Leo was the most insane, obnoxious, mind-numblingly genius demigods Nico had ever met and he…

“Nico?”

Nico jumped at the voice, turning his head to give Will a small glare with no real emotion behind it.

“Yes?” he answered, coughing as his voice was rather hoarse.

Will’s eyes hooded in concern, and he took the two steps it took to get closer to the demigod.

“You just looked… lost, I guess.”

Nico didn’t respond, gaze falling to the dirt his shoes were tracking. He was lost. For awhile now he’d felt it, whatever was inside of him. The muddy smoke that ran through his veins and pumped through his heart was the same that devoured the kid Octavian whole, and Nico could feel it. It was cold.

 

“I’m fine.” He muttered the response. Will didn’t need to know that he wasn’t actually fine. Nico had a feeling that if he kept repeating those words to himself like a mantra, one day they might actually be true.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Will-- they were dating for gods sake. Will knew the darkest things about him, and he still stuck around, always happy to tease Nico until he caught fire. Will was moonlight and Sunkist and cherry pie and Nico was… what? Skull rings and bad dreams and milk that’d been sitting out for weeks that someone had to have left out, but no one will fess up to it. What did Solace even see in him? They never actually addressed these things, he just made himself Nico’s boyfriend without even asking. (Not that Nico didn’t want him to be..)

A slapping sound emanated from Will’s forceful snatching of Nico’s hand, which, up until that moment, had been dangling uselessly at his side. Nico jumped, understandably, causing the son of Apollo to crack a smile his way. The feeling that flushed Nico scarlet was sort of like the one you get when you read a book for a second time and suddenly everything just makes sense.

Will swung their arms, hands intertwined. “Not drowning in our sorrows, are we?” His tone was light, but there was a definite question that was bolded, capped, and underlined twice.

Nico told himself to relax. He didn’t have to put up these walls with Will, he could be completely honest and just tell him. Tell him that he feels… what was this feeling, anyway?

“Not today.” Nico answered slowly. _I can tell him anytime_ , he thought, feeling reassured. _There’s no rush, right?_

“Good!” Will’s eyes glittered, even in the cloud-smothered sky, and he tugged Nico closer, kissing the top of his head. “You can tell me, y’know.” He whispered before turning his head away.

Nico’s heart plummeted, a feeling of dread settling in his gut. So he did notice then, which meant the longer Nico held out on this, the more Will would worry his pretty little head off, which will just pile on to the mounds of guilt he was burdening. The boy sighed, wishing that he could blow out all of his thoughts and just wash them away with the oncoming rain.

The sky rumbled.

“Hey,” Lou Ellen appeared next to the pair, looking worriedly at the darkened clouds. “Should we maybe find a place to make camp?”

Will grumbled softly.

“Y’know, this all would’ve been so much smoother if someone just zapped us to where Darcy is.”

Nico replied, “Like who?” just as a jolt of lightning danced overhead.

“I don’t know,” came Will’s retort. “A fairy, a wizard--”

“How about a Goddess?”

The woman was leaning casually against a tree, looking every bit the hitchhiker, but suspiciously unconcerned with the comping downpour. As the first drops started to fall, they seemed to miss her entirely, creating the interesting illusion the she had a soft light illuminating from her. Nico felt the familiar stench of decay waft in and around him.

The rain took on weight then, falling heavily and plastering Nico’s loose hair to his face and Will’s blonde curls over his eyes.

A thoroughly soaked Lou Ellen piped up first.

 **  
** “A Goddess would be much appreciated.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yep yep more sad and angsty Nico BUUUUT next chapter will throw hints at some angsty Will, and it'll only be hints cause it'll still be in Nico's POV because remember I DID chop this chapter in half sooo~ wait to you get to the parts I'm writing rn ahAHAHA- sorry
> 
> (now I feel bad cause this chapter is shorter than it was supposed to be but otherwise it would have all felt too fast to me sorrryyyyyyy)
> 
> (also how many references did you catch huh huh huh~)


	13. The Goddess Erecura

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> these chapter titles were creative at the start but now they're just a hassle ugh I'm so sorry

Something TARDIS-esque was going on with the redheaded woman’s tent.

It was pitched up between two shabby looking trees that could barely hold themselves, let alone the small, patchwork tent tied to them. Will was the first to plunge inside, and since he still had a hold on Nico’s hand, Nico was dragged in quickly after. They each tripped over each others feet and wound up crash landing on a multi-colored bean bag with a loud POOF. Quite soon after they recovered from the initial shock of it, Lou Ellen landed on top of them both with a grunting noise before rolling off and over exaggerating her pain in a series of moans.

“Uhp,” The woman stepped inside without injury. “Should’ve warned you to watch your step, huh?” The object responsible for all this heartache was a foam pool noodle, which was kicked away immediately.

“Now then. How about a proper introduction?” The hitchhiker Goddess clapped her hands, motioning for the three fallen demigods to stand up and follow her. Hesitantly, Will obliged, forcing a reluctant Nico to follow and a nervous-excited Lou Ellen to pursue.

She led them through many curtain folds, some just beads dangling from seemingly nowhere, and into a parlor room of sorts. There was a neon blue loveseat with a glass coffee table in front of it, and off to one side but tilted towards the room was a ridiculous sized rocking chair. The chair was extravagant, if not patchy. Wood melted with metal, metal weaved around gold, gold stitched into stuffed fabric-- it was a designing nightmare, but so was everything else.

“Do take a seat.” Will, Nico, and Lou Ellen looked behind them at the loveseat, gave each other apologetic glances, then sat down simultaneously, making sounds of protest as they struggled to get comfortable with so little room. Lou Ellen suggested Nico sit in Will’s lap, Will approved, and Nico slapped them both on the back of the head with reddened cheeks.

The end result was Lou Ellen sitting at the far end sideways, her legs draped over the laps of the two remaining boys. Nico shifted uncomfortably, wondering why she couldn’t have just sat on the floor.

**  
**  


The woman, seated in the mod podge of a chair, cleared her throat. She cracked a smile when all of their heads swiveled her direction.

“So,” She began. “You’re looking for Darcy.”

Nico tensed. An introduction no longer seemed necessary, it seemed. His fist clenched against his leg.

“Do you know where she is?”

“I might.” Her laugh was warm, but her eyes were empty. “What’s it to you, son of Hades?”

Will cut in before Nico could reply, tossing him a warning glance. He was right. It wouldn’t do any good to tell her off if she knows where to find Darcy.

“We’re friends, I swear it.” At the not so subtle eyebrow raise, Will added, “I swear it on the River Styx.”

The woman’s shoulders relaxed, and she sat back slightly in her chair. “Erecura.” She said. Will, ever the dork, blinked once at her. “Gesundheit.”

“What? No. That’s me-- Erecura, that’s my name.”

Nico nodded as Will turned pink. “Celtic Goddess of the Underworld. I wondered why you reeked of death.”

Erecura looked offended.

  
“I do not ‘reek’ of death. It’s… perfume.” She muttered the last part, then waved her hand, dismissing the conversation. “If you’re all such good friends with her, why was she running away?”

It was a fair question, yet it stung Nico deeply. Was she insinuating that Darcy hated them? … Did she?

Lou Ellen answered, looking calm and composed in the presence of a Goddess. “She can’t control her abilities and they’re very dangerous. She ran away because she didn’t want to hurt anyone else. She’s afraid, and we have to find her. Help her.”

Erecura was silent for a moment, digesting this information it appeared. She set her eyes on Nico then, snake skin emerald that they were.

“She mentioned you.”

Nico visibly went still, processing this. Darcy mentioned him? Why? He felt that he understood her in ways that the others couldn’t, but what was _he_ to _her_?

“She’s going to New York.” Erecura said, crossing her arms. “I’ve arranged a meeting with her mother there.”

It was as if the air in the room flash froze and left everyone a statue; Will with his mouth agape, Lou Ellen looking terrified, and Nico with a concerned expression. Lyssa, the Goddess of Madness, Chaos, and Ghosts was going to be in New York with _Darcy._

Nico didn’t hesitate to ask, “When?”

Erecura regarded him with an icy glare. “You won’t be stopping her.” She said harshly. Nico rolled his eyes and scoffed loudly.

“I need to be there. _We_ need to be there, _with_ Darcy, _our friend._ ”

A hand settled over his clenched fingers, warming them and calming the rage about to boil over. Will cleared his throat politely, giving the Goddess in their presence an apologetic stare.

“We don’t plan on stopping her, miss. We just... We want to help.” At Erecura’s inquiring stare, Will, reluctantly, explained how little he knew about Darcy and her past. He spoke of how he couldn’t help her whenever she had an attack. Nico noticed a sheen in his eyes that wasn’t there before.

Will breathed.

“I was… useless.”

The word slapped Nico hard across the cheek. He felt something rising in his throat, an emotion like fear mixed with anger, and it _burned_ in his mouth, taste like scorched asphalt. Useless… _Worthless_ … Will was neither, and Nico knew this, but the gleam of tears fighting behind his blue eyes proved that these words Will was saying had genuine feeling behind them.

He hadn’t realized, but Nico was frozen with eyes blown wide and locked on the son of Apollo. Erecura was speaking, her tone sounded urgent, but Nico only caught half of what was said:

“-- go if you wish, but be forewarned that this is not your territory. And if Darcy refuses your presence, you leave _at once,_ am I understood?”

All three demigods gave a nod, Nico finally having torn his gaze away from Will. Erecura seemed satisfied by this response, and promptly kicked them out of her tent. Outside, the air had cooled considerably, irritating Lou Ellen just enough to whip out a cardigan from her bag and bury herself in it.

“Son of Hades.”

Nico turned to see Erecura leaning against one of the pitiful trees, emerald eyes narrowed and stony. She motioned for him to come closer, and he did, casting behind him a look of confusion. Will only shrugged a reply, and he and Lou Ellen stood still, patiently waiting.

Erecura blew out a sigh when he approached. “I sense much darkness in you, boy. Your illness runs deep; deeper than your veins. If you are not properly aided to, shadows will swallow you forever.”

Nico’s fist clenched-- it’d been doing that quite a bit recently. He bit his lower lip and swallowed thickly, daring to meet Erecura’s gaze, only to be surprised to find it had softened into a look of concern.

Nico stuttered, “I-I’ll be fine.

“You are lying to yourself, and you are lying to him.” She darted her eyes to Will, who, thank gods, wasn’t paying attention and didn’t notice. Nico felt something deep within him throb at those words, but he muffled the feeling.

Erecura continued, “You are not the only one in this party with troubles, lad. And by hurting yourself, you’re hurting him too.” An unstoppable rush of exhaustion flew through him then, and Nico swayed on his feet. He was so… _tired._

__

Ignoring the feeling, Nico huffed out a sigh, grumbling low, “I’ll be fine, _he’ll_ be fine… I didn’t mean for this to happen, you know. It’s not my fault.”

A pitiful expression washed over Erecura’s features momentarily, but was quickly scrubbed away to reveal a look of anger. Her hands snatched Nico by the arms, holding him dangerously close to her freckled face.

“Of course it isn’t your fault, Nico di Angelo, but it happened! The unfortunate hand you’d been dealt forced you to become something you didn’t want to be, and you _hurt_ because of it. It’s never a demigod’s _fault_ , Son of Hades, remember that!”

Her grip loosened, and she placed a hand on his cheek. It was warm, but Nico didn’t like it.

“You couldn’t have stopped it from happening, Nico, and I’m so sorry. I can feel every ounce of pain you feel and have ever felt, and you’ve suffered so much,” her eyes glistened with unfallen tears. “Stop this, child. You don’t deserve it, and neither does he. Stop this, Nico, and save yourself.”

Speechless, Nico could only cast his eyes away. He could feel the heat forming behind them, and he didn’t want to return to the others crying like a baby.

Erecura released him, standing back a little as if realizing she’d made a mistake of venturing into his personal space. She hesitantly held out her palm open toward the sky, and an obsidian marble swelled into existence.

“Take this.” She instructed, putting it in Nico’s jacket pocket. “It isn’t much, but you can use it to contact me. All you need to do is say my name, and destroy it. I will help where I can.”

Erecura looked down.

“I can’t help but feel as though I’ve made a mistake, sending Darcy to her mother. I only had the best intentions, lad, believe me.”

Nico nodded, feeling the cool marble in his pocket with his finger tips. “I’m gonna save her.” He said, unsure if the words actually came from his mouth or from somewhere else.

The Goddess smiled, though her eyes were absent of joy, and disappeared inside her tent.

_I’m gonna save her…_ The thought was daunting, but Nico knew it was the truth. He had to save Darcy, if he wanted to save himself.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so moody so brooding buy one angsty demigod, get another free!


	14. A Necessity in Three Words

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is 100% concentrated fructose corn syrup
> 
> also check out the title not following the rules I'm too lazy to be creative today so sorry

Will was holding Nico’s hand, much to the younger boy’s irritation. As cute as his blushing boyfriend was, Will felt dirty while he took his pulse, knowing that if he’d asked, Nico would have refused downright.

Will was worried. It was only natural of him to be so, right? Nico hasn’t recovered fully, and it seemed that those nightmares have become more frequent as well as more violent. He just wished he’d say something, talk to him about it. Nico had promised to tell him later, but has yet to utter a word, and it was _killing_ Will.

Nico’s hands were warm.

It was drizzling still, specks of rain ever so slowly soaking the trio through, but Will didn’t mind the weather much. As an Apollo kid, one would expect him to be appalled whenever a cloud covered the sun, but Will was quite the opposite. He loved rainy days.

They reminded him of simpler times, back when he was a kid and his mom used to help him build forts out of bedsheets and pillows, and they’d dive into their handmade castle, keeping the tv in view so they could watch movies and gorge themselves on the butteriest popcorn.  He remembered how warm it was, with her, even if it was windy and wet outside.

The crack of thunder was distant, but audible. Nico raised his head to the sky, frowning at the collecting clouds.

“We need to find some place to stop.” He said, cocoa eyes landing on Will. Will looked to Lou Ellen, who didn’t appear to be listening to either of them, but nibbling feverishly on her thumbnail.

“Lou-” This time the thunder was _thunderous_ , and with it sent tendrils of lightning to brighten the sky for only a millisecond.

Lou Ellen jumped, making a squeaking sound, and reached out a hand, grabbing Nico by the jacket sleeve. She tugged herself over to them both, not letting go.

Nico tensed.

“Are you… scared of thunder?” Nico asked hesitantly, his grip on Will’s hand tightening. Will gave it a squeeze, hoping it was reassuring.

Lou Ellen’s eyes were wide when they turned the boys’ direction, and she dropped her hand from her mouth. She nodded once.

“It’s just… really loud.” Her voice was quiet, and Will felt a pang of empathy flush through him. How did he not know that about his best friend?

Will held out his free hand.

“Here.”

Lou Ellen was reluctant to take it until she heard a faroff rumbling, her remaining hand flying straight back to her lips. She bit her thumbnail with a mumbled insult, looking as skittish as a first time camper.

Will shook his head at her, “Stop that, it’s not good for you.” The reply he got was riddled in colorful language, and if he’d had both of his hands free, he would have covered Nico’s preciously innocent ears.

Nico simply snorted at that, reaching across and plucking her hand into his own. The group resituated until Lou Ellen was in the middle, hands held down by Nico on her left, and Will on her right. She appeared a lot calmer, which was comforting, but her hand wasn’t as warm as Nico’s… Will sighed, looking up.

“Alright. Where do we make camp?”

“How about over there?” Nico had his arm outstretched, pointing off into the trees. Will didn’t see it at first, but a lightning flash revealed it: a log cabin.

Lou Ellen was squeezing Will’s hand tight, and judging by Nico’s flinch, she was hurting him too.

“No no no, absolutely not, no way in Tartarus. Are you crazy? A log cabin in the middle of the woods in a thunderstorm? That is horror movie material, my friend, I refu--”

Nico was already dragging the chain link of hands towards it, and Will was met with an armful of Lou Ellen, who’d broken free in sheer fear.  

“Dudes, no!” She struggled, but Will crushed her with a hug, moving forward. He struggled to step around her feet, but gained his footing.

“It’s shelter, Lou, we’ve survived a lot worse than the _possibility_ of ghosts.”

“GHOSTS?! LET GO!”

Somehow, the boys managed to get her to the cabin, pushing her inside and then blocking the exit from her reach.

It was dry, thank gods, and _warm_. This could have been due to the fireplace in the corner, blazing bright with sweet sweet heat.

The cabin itself had two beds, a rug with a sort of tribal pattern etched on it, indoor plumbing (Will almost cried; he was so happy), and above the fireplace was a golden plaque.

  
Nico read, “‘The Cabin of Necessity. For those in need, so says Helga...’ I can’t make out her last name, it’s scratched off.” He peeled off his wet jacket, hanging it on the hook above the fireplace.

“Thanks, Helga.” He said, turning and falling onto one of the beds. Lou Ellen took small steps around the cabin, hanging up her cardigan gently, then inching herself over to the second bed. She eyed it for a moment, then she glanced to the bed where Nico was fussing with the sheets. There was distance between them, maybe three or four steps, but Lou Ellen remedied that with a mighty shove, creating one big bed, with an inconvenient crack down the middle.

Nico jumped, scooting over with wary eyes.

She hopped in, pleased with herself, and took up an entire half.

“G’night!”

Will rolled his eyes at his dork friend, but didn’t mention it. If this is what it took for Lou Ellen to be okay in this weird cabin, that was a sacrifice he was ready to make.

He set his bag down, rubbing his hands by the fire. Should he put it out before they all went to sleep? Will imagined it would get cold pretty quickly if he did, and the fire itself seemed to agree as it lowered it’s flames down to mere embers. Just enough to keep the room warm, but not enough to ignite the place.

“Thanks, Helga.” Will whispered to the fireplace, and if he saw a face wink at him, he didn’t say anything about it.

An hour had passed, Will still busy checking the gear and food rations. He wondered if Helga kept the kitchen fully stocked. He had just gotten up to check when he heard,

“U-Uh, Will?”

The Son of Apollo turned at Nico’s voice, stifling a giggle when he saw how close Lou Ellen had scooched toward him. Will offered a shrug, and Nico gave him a scowl and a look that read, ‘help me or I swear to Hades I will end you.’

Will made his way to the rescue, pulling her off and stuffing a pillow in Nico’s place. Lou Ellen rolled over with it, rubbing her face in with a sleepy sigh.

Will poked his boyfriend, making the decision that he could check the kitchen in the morning.

“Move over, sweet sunshine.” He smirked, enjoying Nico’s growling/blushing combo. Nico obliged, however, and Will slipped under the covers, pulling Nico in close.

“L-Let go.”

“Mmm,” Will pretended to think about it. “Make me?” Nico was quick on the draw, pillow smacking into Will’s face at light speed.   
He laughed, “Alright, alright.” He pulled his hands back, freeing him, though the younger demigod didn’t move away.

“Nico?”

Nico was staring at Will with a strange expression. His eyes were soft and soaked with something sad, but his lips were curved into an echo of a smile. Like he was thinking of a happy memory, but it was so long ago that he can’t recall all of the details, leaving him only with a grin and the feeling that something’s been forgotten.

Will could feel the heat rising from the back of his neck, bristling as it went. What was that look for anyway?

A hand brushed his cheek, warm and pink with embarrassment. He closed his eyes, cursing Cupid under his breath, wondering if Nico was making fun of him.

“Will.”

Nico’s voice was raw, beckoning Will to open his eyes to see the dark-haired boy with his own eyes shut, looking nervous. He was twisting that skull ring with his fingers, his other hand trailing away from Will’s face and becoming a fist against his chest. Will wanted to pull up a hand to hold Nico there, anchored to him, but he couldn’t find the strength to move.

“Will,” Nico said again, shakily. His fingers spread on Will’s chest, then balled up the horrendous orange shirt. “D-Do you…”

That was when Will found his strength.

He wrapped both of his hands around the one clutching his shirt, threading his fingers. Will was outstandingly at a loss for words, instead tilting his head forward. Now both boys were laying, foreheads touching, warm hands in a pile between them.

Will found the coffee-stained eyes and drank them in, pressing a small kiss to Nico’s mouth before retreating back to his respected bubble, squeezing the boy’s hand in what he hoped was comforting.

Nico let out a heavy sigh, nerves spilling away with his breath, and he whispered it so softly, Will almost didn’t catch it.

“Do you.. love me…” He very quickly added, “O-or something?”

But Will did catch it, and he completely melted against the words. Pulling Nico close was easier this time, as he wrapped his arms around his waist and nuzzled his nose deep in the boy’s neck. One day, Will was going to figure out why Nico smelled like apples.

What was he supposed to call the feeling of his heart racing every time Nico said his name? Or the rush of hysteria that came with stolen kisses whenever Lou Ellen wasn’t looking? Did Nico think he didn’t? That after all this time, since day one, that Will never even…

Nico’s voice appeared beside Will’s ear. His worry was tangible, and it gave Will goosebumps. “Will? Are you... crying?”

And he was. He hadn’t noticed it yet, but Will had a slight tremble to his skin, and his eyes were streaming tears, but Will didn’t make a sound. He was terrified to.

“...N-Nico.” Will’s voice broke then, the tears burning hotly as they soaked into Nico’s collar. Loved him? _Loved him_? Of course, _of course_ , if he could scream it from Mt. Olympus he’d do it in a heartbeat.

Will felt hands tentatively find his shoulders, and a breath against his cheek.

“Cause I… I love you, Will.”

_Why?_

How stupid Will was, crying like a lost child and clinging to his boyfriend as if he’d sprint out of there if he let go. Lou Ellen was literally an arm’s reach away, and here he was, blubbering right next to her.

Nico said he loved him. The words sent sparks down Will’s spine and he could feel his stupid heart pounding like crazy and why was he crying? This is the moment he’d dreamed about, the one he stayed up all night with Lou Ellen in a panicked frenzy talking about, the one Reyna told him would come to him if he’d just be patient.

_But why?_

__

He couldn’t make sense of his thoughts, but Will loved Nico so much he thought that he was going to explode and Aphrodite herself would descend from Olympus to laugh at the pieces.

“I…” Will kept gasping in between sobs, Nico rubbing circles on his back and petting his hair like he were a precious thing. Why, why…

“It’s.. okay.” Nico said quietly, pulling away and setting both hands on Will’s cheeks, brushing under his eyes with his thumbs. Will shook his head numbly, eyes wide and bloodshot. He had to, he _had_ to.

So he drew in the shakiest of breaths, feeling Nico tense against him, and he let it out in a laugh. Tears were still brimming, but he was laughing softly, wondering how much of an idiot Nico thought he was. Since when was a moment like this supposed to be so serious? Lou Ellen would be rolling on the floor if she were awake, so why was Will _crying_?

He laughed the word, “Yes” before his smile died out completely. Will’s voice was shaky and dry and it totally sounded like he was still crying, and he hid his gaze when he said,

“Yes, I love you.”

Nico was kissing him before he could even catch his breath, but he was okay with it. They broke apart gasping, Will dropping his head against the pillow with a _poof_. Nico smiled sleepily, eyes hooded with fatigue, laying his head down next to Will’s.

Nico was the first to fall asleep, head sharing the same pillow space as the blonde-haired, red-eyed boy. Looking him over, he looked relaxed, and it didn’t seem like there would be another nightmare for awhile.

Will was glad at this, he deserved a proper night’s rest.

There was an ache in his chest that wasn’t there before, and he prodded it curiously, finding fresh tears landing on the bedsheets. _But why?_ it seemed to ask. _Am I worthy of this? Of love?_

Will was asleep in the next second, leaving his brain to decode an answer to the questions. That is, if there even was one.

\---

_Everything was fuzzy and warm and terrible._

__

_The room Will was in kept changing colors, fading from pink to orange to green to black and then back to pink in a dizzying chameleon like display. It hurt his eyes and made pounding noises in his head._

_Nico was there, off in a corner, and Will could feel his eyes on the back of his head, but every time he turned around, Nico would be looking down, avoiding his gaze._

__

_“Nico?” His voice here was different, and though he knew that he’d said the words, he wasn’t sure that he’d heard them._

__

_“What’s wrong?” He would ask the son of Hades, and he’d began walking toward him. Yet the farther he walked, the farther away Nico seemed to be, it was as though every step were imaginary and Will hadn’t moved from the center of the room. But he had moved, because the pictures on the walls would go by him, telling him to go faster, go faster! so he’d pick up the pace, feeling something like fear swelling in his chest._

__

_And still the paintings shouted._

__

_At some point, Will must’ve been freed from the broken record of a loop, because Nico began running away from him. He didn’t seem afraid, he seemed annoyed by Will’s chase._

He’s fast. _The thought was fleeting, but warped the feeling in his gut, slashing it in half and morphing it into panic._

__

Please, wait for me.

_Will’s feet felt like cement blocks._

Nico!

_He was slowing down, and Nico was getting faster--_

Wait please, I can’t--

_Will became voiceless in this landscape, and upon this realization did the room turn white and blind him with a harsh, unforgiving light. Nico tossed a look behind him before stepping inside of it, vanishing._

__

_The invisible waves that came crashing down knocked Will to the floor, pinning him and rendering him motionless. A monotonous ringing was echoing in his head, and he could feel the ground shift between his feet like sand._

Nonononono… _He had to find Nico, where had he gone? Will’s mouth tasted like copper, and he spat out something dark, watching it splatter against his fingers as he tried to catch it._

_The paintings were screaming and Nico was gone and the room plummeted into blackness. And he was nowhere… there was nothing…._

**  
  
  
  
**

“Will?”

The first thing Will noticed upon waking was Nico’s eyes, brown hues wide and anxious. He felt achy all over his body, his lungs felt hot, and his eyelids almost drooped closed but Nico had grabbed his wrist, waking him.

“Are you okay?” He was whispering, grip firm yet gentle and somehow uncertain of the contact. Will couldn’t see much else besides Nico’s face, the room was too dark.The fire must have gone out completely…

A hand reached out and poked his nose. “Will?”

“Hm… “ Will willed his heart to slow its pace.

“Were you… dreaming?”

He nodded, then realizing that Nico probably couldn’t see that, mumbled, “Yea.” His heart rate slowed, but his breaths were coming in ragged. It didn’t surprise Will to see that one of his hands was twisted against the front of his shirt, as though he had been suffocating.

Nico’s foot poked his under the blankets.

“Do you... wanna talk about it?”

Will shook his head, then stopped, reaching out in the dark. He swallowed,

“C-Can I tell you later?”

Nico’s hand found his and held on tight, he wasn’t going anywhere.

“Sure.”

“And… will you tell me? About what you said you’d tell me later?” The son of Apollo knew his hands were cold, but Nico’s warmed him up considerably. He found this to be rather ironic.

  
His response was hesitant, but the whispered, “Yes” put Will’s mind at ease. Almost. There were still rampant flutterings in his chest, but they slowed ever so slightly.

Nico found a comfortable spot in the crook of Will’s neck and fell back asleep, muttering Italian nonsensities which lulled the blonde into a dreamless, fitful slumber.

 


	15. Helga's Cabin of Necessity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was an originally EXTREMELY long chapter and I was so tempted to leave it but it would've been twelve pages condensed onto one screen + isn't waiting for the update part of the appeal? Yes, no?

Will awoke in an empty bed, cold and disgruntled.

Lou Ellen was hunched over their packs, taking stock and emptying the cabin’s pantries, mumbling her appreciation to Helga while she did so. Nico had his hands in his jacket pockets, shoulder keeping him propped against the wall, and eyes closed in seemingly fierce concentration. He opened them when he felt Will’s stare.

  
Nico smiled, “Morning, sunshine.”

The voice in the back of his head muttered _‘why?’_ and Will had to agree with it. He looked at his boyfriend, taking in the sight. It hadn’t been very long since they admitted their feelings in that infirmary, but in the moment Will felt like he’d known Nico all his life. He’d watched him at least, from afar, and relished in the stories other campers brought back about the oh so mysterious King of the Underworld.

Then the Prophecy of Seven was revealed and Will had been worried sick, so when he finally saw Nico in that stupid Hawaiian shirt and ridiculously shaggy hair he couldn’t stop his mouth in time and blurted out the first thing he could think of…

He still remembered how hard his hands were shaking, and how nice they felt when he made Nico take them.

_Such a smooth operator, Dr. Solace..._

“That’s my line.” Grumbled the blonde, stumbling to his feet. He’d placed one foot onto the wooden floor before he knew something had changed.

Will stood up slowly, evaluating the presences around him and glancing to the window. The rain stopped.

“Will?” Nico seemed to understand, going still himself and waiting for some kind of explanation. One that Will didn’t have. The son of Apollo hushed him gently, letting his instincts guide him toward the cabin door. He took a breath, gave Nico a subtle nod, and threw it open.

_Green._

__

They were surrounded by fresh, _dry_ grass. Free of clouds, the sky blanketed over them all, blue and warm and bright, almost foreign to the darkness that had been looming over them since they left camp.

Will dropped his hands to his sides, unaware that he’d been holding them ready to attack.

“Oh.” He said eloquently. The slight shimmer of sunlight against the edges of the cabin suggested that they had been thoroughly shrouded in Mist, hidden from mortal view. He wondered what they were seeing, maybe nothing at all…

“Woah…” Nico was behind him, exhaling on Will’s neck as he peeked over his shoulder. Lou Ellen shoved them both out of the way.

“What are we all-- _holy Hera_ where _are_ we?”

“Manhattan.” Said Nico, looking down. Following his gaze, Will saw a brochure had been tossed at their front door, with ‘Manhattan’ in large, blocky letters. The cover showed a park as seen from a helicopter, as well as a closer up shot of a family relaxing and playing in the park.

“‘Family Fun’ it says…” Lou Ellen mumbled, picking up the brochure and slipping it into her backpack. “But how did we portal ourselves all the way to Central Park?”

Will almost didn’t have an answer, but he suddenly smiled brightly, retrieving his gear from inside and clapped both demigods on the shoulders, pulling them in close.

“Well,” he said, feeling rather giddy. “This is Helga’s cabin of necessity right?” He raised his eyebrows at Lou Ellen, hoping she’d caught on.

The girl grinned.

“And we really _needed_ to get to New York…” She tossed her eyes to Nico, who looked adorably hesitant.

“...Helga… sent us here?”

“That is correct! Give the boy a prize!” Will hugged him from behind, ignoring the slight squeeze in his gut. Nico grumbled something, presumably in Italian, and pinched at Will’s cheeks until he retreated, pink faced and grinning.

Lou Ellen adjusted her pack and shook out her hair, eyes glistening. “To Darcy!” was her battle cry as she stepped outside the Mist’s bounds and onward to continue their quest.

Will joined in gleefully, dragging a flustered Nico di Angelo by the hand.

For a moment, Will forgot everything. The quest, the question, the nightmare… Watching Nico duck his face behind his hair to avoid the looks from strangers they passed made him forget all of that. He found himself smiling softly, wondering why he was so caught up on the question when he already knew Nico loved him.

But why was the question and it was slowly eating him alive. What was it about him that Nico found worth loving? Not that Will wasn’t over-the-moon by the news, but…

He sighed quietly. He’d have to tell him then, the dream. Maybe some other things too...

His reminder of their current mission came in the form of a shrill screaming sound, followed by the overwhelming stench of rot.

\---

The pearl from the sea god made short work of Darcy’s trek to New York. She bobbed up in the Hudson, managing to scramble her way to the shore of what appeared to be a park judging from the amount of people loitering around. She received a few looks from strangers at her wet appearance, as she tripped hopelessly over tendrils of wet blonde hair, trying to compose herself. She looked ridiculous.

Honestly. Where exactly in New York was she supposed to go? Eri had been far too vague… Darcy brushed the silver ring with her thumb, thinking hard. She hadn’t any idea why, but somehow she felt like she was close, and that thought alone sent her heart racing.

She huffed. This was going to be difficult, but she couldn’t turn back. Not now. Not again.

Darcy began walking, soaking in the atmosphere while she braided her hair. This way it wouldn’t slap in her face if she had to sprint off somewhere.

Suddenly, a slim young woman with seaweed green eyes and a platter stacked with towels side stepped into her view, throwing one of the warm, dry towels onto her head with a giggle. Through the Mist, Darcy could just make out her skin as a pale jade color and riddled with scales.

“Oh,” Darcy wrapped the towel around her shoulders, reaching into her pocket. Maybe she had a few drachmas…

The nymph held out her hand, gesturing for Darcy to stop. She shook her head seriously before breaking out into a smile and hooking her finger toward herself.

_She wants me to follow…_ Darcy smothered the hesitance that was nagging at her. The nymphs at Camp Half-Blood had been quite friendly, but she could defend herself if she had to… she just hoped she didn’t have to.

With a wink, Darcy was led to a peculiarly shaped statue. It was semi sphere shaped, but it resembled that of shard of glass bent and molded to create the illusion of a ball. It was beautiful and off-putting and Darcy wasn’t sure what she was supposed to think of it. So she didn’t.

Underneath the statue stood the silhouette of someone quite tall, and only at the nymph’s persistent shoving did Darcy dare to move toward them.  

Roughly 6’1” tall, the man had an unfamiliar gleam in his eyes despite them being empty of all feeling. He seemed to smile, but it was as if there were threads pulling at each end of his mouth, and every step he took toward Darcy was jerky and unbalanced. Like a puppet on strings. There was nothing remarkable in his appearance, but Darcy felt a familiar prickling sensation on the back of her neck nonetheless.

“To be following me this way, princess, this way...” Beckoned the creature, flailing the arms of the man to make them gesture.

Darcy didn’t move, ignoring the formal ‘princess’ title. “Where?” She kept her voice even.

A taut grin was her only answer, and the man flicked out a wrist to point, only he couldn’t settle on any one direction and ended up spinning uselessly.

Two things had been determined: one, the man and the being controlling the man are two completely different entities. And two, only one of these beings currently had a heartbeat.

“Let the man go, please,” she requested. The man seemed to stutter at this, unsure how to react properly. Apparently he hadn’t been trained to deal with this kind of issue.

The headshake was too fast and too hard, Darcy almost heard the man’s brain bouncing about inside his skull. “I cannot, princess, you won’t to be seeing me if without the skin.”

“Trust me, it’s okay. Let him go.” She wondered how she was remaining calm, why her heart rate was suspiciously relaxed and why she didn’t run away. She’d seen his face when he struggled to answer her question and it hadn’t frightened her and she wondered why.

As quickly as it takes someone to snap their fingers, the man teetered on his feet, looking mightily confused and exhausted. Darcy directed him to the nymph with the towels, and watched as he lumbered off. A wash of relief momentarily caused her to drop her guard. But it was up again as soon as the ghost revealed himself to her.  

“Follow me, please.” The ghost’s voice was much more dignified than the man’s had been. He also seemed to have grasped a better concept on grammar.

Darcy looked him over, finding the shapelessness of him to be rather unnerving. It was like he were wearing the ashes from the fireplace as a cape, as he shed swirls of black whenever he turned.

“You can speak English?”

“Nay,” said the ghost, giving Darcy the impression that he was smiling. “You are speaking Death’s Tongue.”

Death’s… Darcy began to shiver, her heartbeat becoming barrel drums in her ears. Was this another ability bestowed upon her by Lyssa? She reached back into her memories, recalling times when Dillon wasn’t around, and shadow-like shapes would appear to her and ask in child-like voices, “ _Won’t you play a game with us?_ ”

_Of course, what else would that have been._ Darcy scowled. Without a godly parent, there would be no demigod. Without Lyssa…

Darcy composed herself quickly, trying her hardest to appear unshaken. She straightened up, wondering just how brave she could look in sopping clothes, and met the ghost’s gaze. At her nod, the ghost began to move, and Darcy reluctantly followed.

\---

Nico recognized the smell almost immediately, but before he could warn the others, the beast herself appeared.

The harpy sprayed spittle over the three of them with a roar, causing Will to let go of Nico’s hand. He’d be offended if Will hadn’t equipped his bow and put some distance between himself and the monster. He winked at Nico, and Nico’d be lying if he didn’t turn bright scarlet because _gods Will, in front of the harpy?_

Lou Ellen had her long sword drawn, a simple Celestial Bronze blade, but down the central ridge were shining jewels of different colors. Back at camp, she explained how they enhanced her Mist-bending skills, and that with them she could morph her sword into a completely different weapon of similar design.

She swiped the air in front of them with it, a dazzling bronze blur in Nico’s eyes, but the harpy laughed at her warning, flexing and expanding her wings, showing off her wingspan.

“I knew I smelled a half-blood, and look at my luck!” She hissed at them again, getting slobber absolutely everywhere. “I get a three-course meal!”

Nico gripped his blade tightly, attempting to slow his heart rate to relax. _No shadow-traveling, no overexertion, no panicking…_ He felt steady. _It’s just one harpy, we’ll be fine._

  
Lou Ellen appeared calm, and with the unidentified glint in her eyes, she looked downright _terrifying_ with that sword in her hands.

  
She smiled, head tilting. She didn’t even have to say anything, and it sent a shock of ice down Nico’s spine. _Man this girl is insane…_

Her pride wounded by their lack of screaming and life-begging, Ugly growled low, baring her teeth. Darkly she said, “You die first,” and charged toward Lou Ellen, head ducked and wings outstretched.

The arrow whizzed past her head so fast, her hair blew with the breeze of it, but Lou Ellen herself didn’t move an inch. It hit the harpy square in the skull, lodging there, slightly smoking from the impact.

Nico turned his head behind him at Will, who looked nothing like the daughter of Hecate. He was grinning like he’d just told a stupid joke and was trying not to laugh.

**  
**  


The second attack wasn’t unexpected, only underestimated as dirt exploded from underneath the son of Apollo’s feet, sending him stumbling backward.

From the fissures rose an inky smoke, and though he was a good distance away, Nico could feel their dark energy from where he stood.

“WILL, GET AWAY FROM THEM!”

“Nico. Look.”

Lou Ellen hadn’t moved, eyes and weapon both locked into position. Nico did as she said and saw the harpy’s body still sprawled on the grass, arrow no longer smoking but still stuck tight. Confused, Nico turned to look back at Lou Ellen, who only pointed again and said, “Look harder.”

Nico stared at it again, this time willing his eyes to look past the body. His vision went out of focus momentarily, and then the body vanished altogether, leaving only a puddle of murkish dark smoke. He felt his heart leap into his throat and then drop hard.

_It wasn’t real… none of it is real…_

Will let out a shout when a tendril of the mysterious smoke latched onto his ankle, and despite his efforts with kicking at it, the smoke wasn’t going anywhere without him. He frowned at it, much to Nico’s amusement, but his grin faded as streaks of warm light swam through Will’s once blue eyes, causing them to shine a dangerous shade of gold.

In response, the swirling, oozy blackness swelled in size and began to wrap its way up Will’s leg and then around his waist.

Lou Ellen seemed to be experiencing similar problems. What was once a harpy had morphed into a melting blob of darkness, and it lashed out tendrils of smoke like whips. Lou Ellen countered them easily, but the lack of spark in her eyes said that she knew it was pointless to swing a sword at these things. She was simply buying time.

_Think Nico, think…_ He still had the marble to contact Erecura didn’t he? How long would it take to summon her? No, there had to be something else…   _What else is there? C’mon, think!_

He could summon a wave of skeleton warriors-- no, Will would nag him about that. Underworldly powers are off limits, swords can’t kill these things because they’re already…

_dead._

“Nico!” Lou Ellen swiped right, slicing through the formless smoke. Her intimidation didn’t seem to have an effect once the smoke no longer had a host. The smoke began to inch away anyway, no longer interested in the daughter of Hecate.

“Help Will! We hold them off and make a run for it.” She nodded her head toward the nearest softball field, where a game was being held and many people were crowded.

“We’ll lose them in the crowd, regroup, and figure out where to go from there.”

Nico found himself nodding wordlessly. _Help Will. Right. Okay. Help Will. Help--_

Will was screaming and Nico’s head was spinning too fast for him to see straight. He saw the  phantom envelope the son of Apollo in a grotesque embrace, and though Will was overflowing light energy, the phantom didn’t seem fazed. Light was clashing with darkness and it was beautiful and terrifying and Will was still screaming--

What followed wasn’t his fault, and he plans to stand by that fact. It was instinct more than anything, really, Will was far away and Nico didn’t even have time to think about it, he was just _doing it._ Shadow travelling.

As he stepped into the shadows, he heard Will’s voice break as well as a sickening crack before he stopped screaming and went limp.

When Nico was jetting towards him, he saw the phantom slowly began to sink into the ground, taking Will with it.

And as Nico reached out a hand and grabbed onto his boyfriend’s foot, they were shadow travelling again, this time a far greater distance. “Nico! Will! _NO!_ ” Lou Ellen’s voice faded as they sank, disappearing into the black.

Every atom in Nico’s body was screaming, but at the same time, the familiarity of the numbing pain almost calmed him. It was almost soothing.

_Help Will help Will help Will help Will..._

It was like hands were softly wrapping around his eyes, everything went dark. He remembered landing on something hard, feeling something heavy crash onto him, and felt a sharp pain in his chest. He wanted to double over and heave, but he couldn’t even find the strength to open his eyes.

_No no no no please not yet…_ Nico tried to tell his eyes to open, tell his mouth to call out for Will, but his body wasn’t listening to him anymore. It stuffed him into a cottony sack and threw him into darkness, and he couldn’t even protest. He could only watch himself fall.

_It hurts… Will..._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How am I doing by the way? This is still the first fic I've ever written and in the comments a lot of you are excited to read it, but is it okay? For a firsty? 
> 
> (PLEASE NOTE: I will be gone from the 31st to the 2nd or 3rd to go to my brother's graduation in Chicago! So don't freak out if I don't update for a bit before and after those dates; I will be packing and unpacking and settling back into the world, all that jazz. <3 HOWEVER~ If you want to keep in touch or want to nag me for being such a horrible fanfic writer you can always spam my tumblr! soupella.tumblr.com~)


	16. A Dark Secret, A Dark Mansion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just gonna go ahead and apologize   
> ***There is blood in this chapter but I wouldn't call it gore, but nonetheless I figured I should warn you***

The last thing Will could remember was horrific pain in the back of his head, and the feeling like his physical existence was run through a paper shredder and then scattered during a wind storm.

All he knew at the moment was that he was surrounded by voices. It was a young boy and girl speaking, their words overlapping onto sentences they’ve already said or will be saying, echoing forever. He’d catch the tail end of conversations or hear the juicy parts of a secret, but Will couldn’t see them. He couldn’t feel them either, he couldn’t feel _anything_ about the landscape he was in. The temperature, size, whether he was indoors or outdoors, Will couldn’t properly tell.

**  
  
**

“ _You see?_ ” The girl was saying. “ _Stars are what we become when we die. Our skin sheds, our blood fades, our bones grind into sand, and then--_ ”

“ _We become stars._ ” Finished the boy.

“ _Right. Every star in the sky used to be just like us…_ ”

**  
  
**

And suddenly Will saw them, the stars. There were dozens, splashed out right in front of him, each twinkling a little brighter than the last. And then there was grass beneath him, and he was lying down, watching the stars.

A hand pushed curls of blonde from his eyes, and Will felt like crying.

“Nico…”

“ _Hey, Solace._ ” He grinned that stupid smirk of a grin, and Will watched as he was swept away with a strong gust of wind, like stardust.

**  
  
**

“ _Where are you going?!_ ” The girl was older now, and raw panic was making her voice crack as she cried.

Will heard a slamming sound, maybe a door or a fist against a wall, followed by quickened footsteps.

“ _Don’t follow me, ----._ ” A ringing noise took the place of what Will assumed was to be the girl’s name. His head felt warm when he heard it.

“ _You don’t get to decide this!_ ” The girl was crying harder. “ _You can’t just leave me here. You promised!_ ”

Next, Will heard a slap, followed by a sharp gasping sound.

“ _You…_ ” The boy must have hit her, then. He sounded guilty, his voice quivering despite his efforts to keep his emotions in check. “ _You heard it… didn’t you…_ ”

She didn’t answer.

**  
  
**

As quickly as the scene had appeared, it too vanished in a breeze, Will finding himself standing in the doorway at the end of a rather long hallway. There were no pictures on the walls, and he strained his neck, trying to turn his head. It was no use, Will couldn’t turn around. But that didn’t stop him from sensing that there was something in the room he shouldn’t ever see.

And then Nico was in front of him, hugging him, mumbling words in a language that didn’t sound like Italian, clinging to Will’s shirt.

“ _Hey, Solace._ ”

Will wanted to lift a hand, hold him closer, he wanted to open his mouth, to tell him that it was okay. It was all okay…

The walls began melting, and that was when Nico disappeared again.

**  
  
**

Thrown back into sightlessness, Will struggled to hear what sounded like the crunching of leaves.

“ _I don’t know about this, ----_.” More ringing in places where names should be. The girl sounded hesitant, but Will could tell that she hadn’t slowed her pace.

The boy sighed. The sound alone made Will ridiculously tired, but he kept focus.

“ _We’ll be okay. There’s a place for us, out there. And there are more of us, too._ ”

“ _That was only a dream._ ”

“ _It’s real enough for me._ ”

**  
  
**

Walking. Will was walking, kicking up brown and yellow leaves as he went. He felt something like excitement buzz in his chest, and he turned a head to find Nico doing the same thing. He had a dorky smile on his face, hair nearly hiding it thanks to the knit beanie he had on.

“Nico.”

He turned, eyes gold. “ _Hey, Solace._ ”

“Nico… where are we?”

Nico didn’t stop smiling, but he looked sad somehow. “ _Only a dream._ ”

Will didn’t understand, but he was quickly tossed back into darkness, watching as Nico fell as though he was made of puzzle pieces.

**  
  
**

“ _Don’t._ ” The girl had such an edge to her voice, it was frightening. Will was familiar with the term “charmspeak” but he imagined that this wasn’t it. This wasn’t a girl charming her victim into obedience. This was a command.

“ _I have to._ ” The boy’s voice was just as scary, and Will could feel the menacing aura in the air. He was frozen. No. No no no.

There was the clashing of metal on metal, thunder roaring overhead, and Will’s heart was pounding feverishly. Something wasn’t right. He felt sharp wetness against his skin and weakness in his legs before color erupted in his vision.

**  
  
**

The sword Will was wielding was golden, flickering when lightning struck. Nico was only an armslength away, brandishing a shining silver sword that was flecked with a darker red color. Blood. He was pointing the sword at Will, golden eyes hard and emotionless.

“Nico--” Will winced, stumbling backwards. There was blood running down from a deep gash in his left leg, staining yellow leaves as it dripped. His head felt warm suddenly, and then all he could see was a burning, blinding red. Too fast… too many memories, all too fast...

“ _Hey, Solace._ ” Nico slashed at his legs, causing Will to fall to his knees. His breathing was labored, but his grip on the golden sword only tightened. No… why is it that he knows what happens next?

“Nico… I-I can’t let go.” He looked up at the son of Hades. The way the rain was making his hair shape his face… Will was terrified.

“Please.” But it was useless, his own arm was already drawing the blade back.

“Don’t.”

Nico took a step forward, into a small puddle of Will’s blood.

“ _I have to._ ” He raised the sword high above his head. Thunder rolled. Will was nodding, tears falling in streams. He knew, why did he know…

“I h-have to…”

Nico swung downward, Will shot upward, and the rain and wind and thunder vanished. Silence was filling every ounce of him, and it was like ice.

\---

It was the sudden sensation of _cold_ that had Nico scrambling from his thoughtless slumber. It was spreading, all over, from his legs to his hands to the tips of his ears, and it was pulsating, sending icy shards through his veins with each breath. He’d be afraid… if he hadn’t already felt this pain before.

Looking down at his lap only confirmed it: Nico was fading again. His skin was already paling, and he could see right through his hands when he held them to the light.

_Light…_

Nico surveyed the room from where he was sitting on a king sized canopy bed with the curtains drawn back. He was expecting something murkier than what looked to be the fanciest hotel room he’d ever seen. The wallpaper was a dreary grey, but the furniture was accented in violet and silver, and the hanging chandelier in the room gave it a dim glow, only adding to the whole “haunted hotel” theme Nico was getting.

Why would phantoms bring them here?

The small groan to his left snapped him back to attention.

Will was sprawled on the bed next to him, eyes shut but face contorting in pain. His fingers were twitching uselessly at his sides, and Nico was swift to reach for them, only to recoil.

Ah. He’d forgotten. If anyone’s hands were useless in this instance, they would be Nico’s.

There were no physical injuries beyond scratches that Nico could see, but he could feel the darkness emanating from somewhere deep within him. The twitching of his eyelids suggested he was dreaming, but somehow Will was actually sustaining damage while he lay unconscious. Nico swallowed. This was really, really not good. Will needed help immediately.

“H-Hey… Solace?” His voice was at an embarrassingly high pitch, and he swallowed. “It’s gonna be okay, okay? I’m gonna get us out of here. Out of here and back to Lou Ellen, okay?”

The features on Will’s face seemed to relax at his voice, but it didn’t calm the quickened beating of Nico’s heart.

What was he supposed to do? He was useless like this, he wouldn’t be able to wield a sword let alone carry Will out of here. So what, then? Was he supposed to just sit here and watch? Watch his boyfriend writhe in pain and then…

_No._

Nico was shaking. His hands were clenched into fists and he grit his teeth as he trembled.

_No…_

Something dark coiled from around his wrists and twisted up his arm. It weaved through his hair with an unfelt touch, making its way down his neck and torso. Nico removed himself from the bed. He knew what was happening, and he didn’t want to… to _infect_ Will with it.

He soundlessly wandered to the full standing mirror in the corner of the room and watched the black wisp stitch in and out of his gradually fading body.

_I’m going to get you out of here, Will._

The once warming brown of his eyes began to fade as well, into a cold and unforgiving black. They made his skin look even paler. Geeze… and he called himself an Italian…

Nico lifted a hand to his cheek, watching as his fingers dipped into the unoccupied space. Further proof of the time limit thrust upon him. _Them._

“Ah. So you’re alive, then.”

Nico turned, slowly. He was hardly surprised at the voice, but the owner of it gave him a pause.

Fourteen. Maybe, with light blonde hair that was nearly white. He was tan enough, splattered in freckles and wearing a light grey jacket over his black t-shirt. He looked so casual, that seeing him in this high-end room setting momentarily confused Nico. _A phantom, maybe?_

He recovered quickly.

“We are, yes.” He growled the words, tendrils of dark smoke drifting up from his feet. The stranger watched with a small grin.

“You are not as I expected you to be,” he seemed to look Nico up and down, face scrunched. “Shorter, maybe…” He waved a hand in the air. “Nevermind. I’m surprised you survived the journey,” he sighed and muttered softly to himself, “not that that’ll last much longer.”

The son of Hades didn’t respond as he focused on quite literally holding himself together. What did that mean “not that that’ll last much longer”?

Nico opened his mouth to ask, but quickly shut it at the sharp pressure coming from his chest. He raised a hand and clutched his shirt tightly. He coughed hard, tasting copper as he spat it from his mouth. What in the name of Hades was going on here?

“Your darling dear sunspot doesn’t seem to be faring well.” The stranger had a soft gaze on Will’s sleeping frame, and that alone sent shivers down Nico’s spine and let loose small puffs of smoke.

The boy then turned his head to Nico with a smirk, eyes a vicious shade of green.

“Perhaps I should wake him? You’d like that, yes?” He held up his hand, fingers poised to snap. Then suddenly his expression changed and the smile vanished. He slowly looked to Nico, lowering his hand.

“Uh oh, too late, I’m afraid.”

Nico didn’t even have to look down to know. He’d felt it himself. He could smell it, too. The sudden spark of warmth in his chest was overflowing, and spilling down his front. Small red spots dripped onto the pristine marble flooring, staining his lips and chin as it dribbled. The pain was considerably numbed by his fading physical form, but Nico watched the world get dimmer anyway, stumbling as he fought to stay awake.

“Wh-... what… did you…. do…?” He had to force the words through a mouthful of blood, and it cost him most of his sight.

The boy tutted, crossing his arms with a sigh. “And here we’ve only just met. What a shame. Not to worry, I doubt you’ll actually die…” He began walking towards the wall, mumbling, “... also a pity…” before disappearing through it.

And then Nico was lying on the ground, unmoving as the pain began carving through him deeper, but unfortunately very much alive.

\--

The rain stopped. Right along with everything else.

Will pushed dark strands out of Nico’s face, exposing his golden, unblinking eyes. He wanted to shut them, pretend that Nico had fallen asleep with his head in Will’s lap, but he couldn’t make his hands move from where they were cradling the demigod’s head.

_I had to… I had to…_

To his left lay the bloodied golden sword, the silver one having slipped out of Nico’s fingers the moment he…

“Oh gods… Nico…” Will rubbed his thumbs across his cheeks, skin smooth and cold. His hands slowly began to change in size, becoming smaller with longer, skinnier fingers. Long locks of sandy blonde hair fell from his shoulders and onto the boy’s face, the boy in his lap who was no longer Nico.

He had blonde hair too, and simple green eyes. Will, now an observer, watched the hand trace the boy’s eyes. There was something very caring about the gesture.

“ _... I had… to…_ ” The voice was that of the girl’s, meaning that the boy she was holding was… “ _Oh gods… Dillon…_ “

Tears landed on Dillon’s freckled cheeks, and Will was overcome with grief. If he had his own lungs, he’d be screaming and sobbing. If he had his own fists, he’d be punching and hitting the ground as hard as he could. Why? What did he do to deserve this?

“ _I’m so sorry…_ ” And she was gone, and Will was back, the body of his boyfriend still sprawled in his lap. But the feeling was still there, eating him from the inside.

He shakily reached out his arms.

“N-Nico please... “ Will hugged the boy closer to him. “Just a dream… wake up…” He had his arms wrapped around Nico’s front, and his face buried in the boy’s wet hair.

“Just a… j-just a dream… I just have to… wake up.” He sniffed, straightening. “Wake up, Will. Wake up, it’s just a dream, he’s not really dead… Just w-wake up…”

He heard the distant rollings of the storm that had passed. He still smelled the blood and the wet ground. He still felt Nico’s soaking jacket and he could still smell the faint scent of apples in his hair.

“Please… please… oh gods…” Will wasn’t sure anymore. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling, hell, he couldn’t even tell if he was still crying, everything was too numb. He could tell that wind was blowing by the way Nico’s hair would rustle, and he knew it was night time because everything was so dark, but everything beyond that lay blurred.

Where was he? This was still a dream, right? Will didn’t know, gods, _he didn’t know._

“...Wi…”

Will let his eyes fall onto what he was now calling not-Nico. His eyes were still open, golden and useless marbles against too pale skin, but now his lips were quivering. The boy had no breath to breathe, Will could very clearly sense that he was empty of life, but his lips still opened and closed, trying to form words.

“W...W-Will…”

_That’s… no, how?_

“W-Wake… u.. up…”

The golden of not-Nico’s eyes began melting and streaming down his cheeks like tears, having been replaced by soft, warm, sweet brown hues.

Will placed his hands on the boy’s cheeks. Ice cold.

“Ni-... Nico?”

“W-Will! Open your eyes! It’s just…. just a dream!”

Will watched as the not-Nico faded into nothing, and he looked up to observe that the wood, too, had vanished. He was sitting in nothing, he was nowhere. His chest grew tighter with the realization, and Will stumbled to his feet. He had to get out. He had to, he _had_ to.

 **  
**And then he was sitting up in a king sized bed, eyes blown wide and heartbeat quickening, staring at the blackened bloodied mess on the floor in front of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when i said i was sorry
> 
> (i lied)
> 
> (<3)


	17. I Had To, I Had To

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've returned~ as a gift, take this short but angst-ridden chapter.

The walls were colorless, but that wasn’t to say that they weren’t to an extent beautifully decorated.

Darcy walked slowly, drinking in the portraits of dead-eyed children that littered the wallspace. They were painted so delicately, but somehow Darcy felt on edge when she looked at them. One in particular portrayed a young boy, muddied hands ripping through earth and tearing up foxgloves. His eyes were drawn to appear calm, but Darcy felt the untamable being behind them.

The shadow travelling thing is tough. She almost split entirely in two, but her guide pulled her together just before she could have gotten seriously hurt. They’d poofed in the front foyer of what Darcy thought was some fancy hotel, and they’d be walking for _hours._

Her ghostly guide was just ahead, not quite walking but more so floating across the rolled out violet carpet. They hadn’t talked after their initial greetings, and Darcy was growing uncomfortable in the silence. She still didn’t know where she was being led, after all.

_Ah, but what does it matter?_ Darcy rubbed her hands together, twisting her rings as she did. _Anywhere is better than nowhere, anything is better than nothing._

After another half-hour of walking in utter silence, the ghost spun to face the daydreaming girl, bowing low and gesturing to a room with great silver doors decorated with swirling designs that shimmered in different colors each time Darcy blinked.

“I hope you wouldn’t mind waiting in here?”

Darcy, still a little ticked that he hadn’t said anything in the past hours, replied only with a shrug before entering the waiting room. She set herself down on a lavish plush sofa, but she didn’t know what to do with her hands until she was offered a tray of butter cookies by a formless space of air. She took a couple cookies, glancing up to her guide.

“What am I waiting for?” She asked. Her guide answered with a vague, “My master, of course.” before fading away and leaving the child of Madness alone.

\--

Will was fumbling trying to pull Nico’s body onto the bed. The boy was light, but finding tangible parts of him to hold on to was a challenge. Once settled, he pulled back his hands, bloodstained, and made the attempt at reeling in his racing thoughts.

“Nico, hey,” with his right hand the son of Apollo found Nico’s wrist and began feeling for a pulse, and with his left he pushed matted dark hair from his face. “Hey, I’m gonna need you to wake up now, okay? C’mon sunshine…”

Gods, Will sounded terrible. His voice cracked and was coated thickly with sleep.

He couldn’t stop shaking, but he managed to take of Nico’s jacket and lift up his shirt. Will took in the sight of all the scars, specifically the long claw marks that he’d only seen peeking out from his shirt sleeves.

_Nico..._

Nico was bleeding badly, and it seemed that with each second that faded, a part of Nico faded too.

“ _Gods…_ ” Will breathed. Never before had the sight of an injury made his blood run cold or his hands twitch and tremble as they did. He closed his eyes and prayed quickly to his father.

What he was about to do could easily take every ounce of his strength, and though he didn’t have much to begin with, that wasn’t about to stop him.

It appeared quicker than before, and maybe that was due to the sheer desperation of the situation, but Will was grateful regardless. The glowing light warmed his hands as he laid them gently on Nico’s chest, over the wound. As the light began to seep into him, Will wondered what had wounded the boy so fatally. The injury looked like a stab wound, and it was deep, but it wasn’t clean, there was some serious hesitation in the…

_Lifeless golden eyes half hidden by golden, dying autumn leaves. Blood black like oil. The throaty whispering… “I had to… I had to…”_

The light fanned and curled by Nico’s side, growing bigger. Tendrils of warmth wrapped up Will’s arms as well as around Nico’s torso, enveloping him like a blanket. It was a dazzling display, but the wide-eyed son of Apollo was no longer watching.

_There’s no way… I thought it was a dream…_

Nico’s eyes moved behind closed eyelids, color returned to his form and made him physical again. A finger covered in dry blood twitched.

Will felt a deep heaviness fall onto his body. He was growing achier by the second and fuzz rubbed incessantly at his eyes, threatening to put him to sleep.

“My, my, the sunspot wakens!”

A blurred figure with shocking snake-skin eyes melted from the wall, approaching Will as if he’d been expecting this. He leaned on the bedframe, crossing his arms and watching shamelessly.

“You see, Casper? I _told_ you you wouldn’t die!” The figure turned a head to look Will over. “Though you look out of sorts, don'tcha?”

Nico’s chest began rising and falling slowly as he took in shivery breaths. Will hadn’t moved, trying to push all the light from out of himself and into Nico. The result was leaving him to feel rather chilly and disoriented, but he wouldn’t die from this. Not even if he deserved it.

Green-eyes gave an exaggerated shrug. His voice was flowing, but he said his words with such honied venom, it’d put charmspeakers to shame.

“Not that I need you two anymore,” he chuckled to himself, at a joke Will wasn’t understanding. “She came here on her own, the fool.” He looked back at Will. “I was going to use you for bait, and when Casper there tagged along, I thought ‘Perfect! The more the merrier, as they say.’ But I guess you’re no longer needed.”

He began slowly circling back toward the wall he’d come from.

“Question is: what should I do with you?”

The figure snapped his fingers and disappeared, though echoes of laughter lingered, bouncing off the walls and shaking the foundation of Will’s sanity.

Will gave a final push of energy, and no sooner had he done so had Nico’s eyes fluttered open and his chest heave with incoming air. Will’s light swirled away, and he shivered. He didn’t use all of his strength, but he used enough to sleep for weeks.

He would have fallen forward if Nico hadn’t slowly sat up to catch him.

“Will, oh thank gods, you’re al-alright?” Nico sounded like hell; voice raw and soft. His body was trembling lightly, but he threaded shivery fingers through Will’s hair anyway.

Will felt his gut clench with the caring gesture. He didn’t deserve it, he didn’t deserve to be alright.

“I-It…” Forcing out the words took everything from him, and he dropped his head onto Nico’s shoulder, eyes stinging with the smell of apples and blood.

“...m-my… my fa-fault…”

Nico was shaking his head, wrapping his arms around the blonde demigod and pulling him close. He was so warm and Will was so cold and _gods he didn’t deserve it._

“No, no it’s not your fault. G-gods, Solace, you’re freezing.” He rubbed his nose into Will’s neck. “You saved me. Look, I’m okay.”

Will began to protest, albeit weakly, but Nico squeezed him hard. Will knew he wasn’t going to be awake much longer, and tried to pull away.

It hurt, being held like this. Why… why did it hurt?

“...Will?... Hey, Solace, stay up with me, okay?” Nico moved to get more comfortable and winced, audibly hissing through clenched teeth.

Will’s eyes blurred with tears as he tried to get away from him; away from the apples, from the coffee eyes and the scarred skin, away from the boy who always thought he could never be loved, but Will loved him and _it hurt._

“...I-It was… w-was...” Will’s voice was getting softer with each word he rasped out. “...me…”

The son of Hades’ hands landing on the blonde’s cheeks, gently lifting his head to be met with the warmest eyes.

_It hurts._

“No,” Nico sounded strong, if not completely wiped out. “Will, please believe me. It wasn’t your fault.”

Will shook his head hard. “Yes it was!” His words exploded into the air and then hung there between them both.

“I _killed_ you... “ He knew that tears and snot and whatever else was running down his face but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. Because Will Solace murdered Nico di Angelo in a dream and woke up to find the boy’s body barely breathing and covered in blood and _it was his fault his fault his fault his-_ -

“I c-couldn’t control it, I had a sword and you weren’t you and _I had to, I had to, I’m sorry…_ ”

“It was j-just a dream,” Nico ran his thumbs over to cut off the trails of tears. “You didn’t do anything, Solace, this place did it.” He was silent for a moment, and then asked, “Do you remember? When you promised you’d tell me about that nightmare, back at Helga’s cabin? Though,” Nico reached over to where his jacket lay, reddening but putting it around Will’s shoulders anyway.

“You said you’d only tell me if I told you about my nightmare. Remember? I said I’d tell you later.”

Will’s eyelids were weighed down with sand. He was watching Nico dumbly, no longer having any use of his voice after his outburst.

The dark haired demigod set Will up against the pillows on the bed, and went to the effort of covering him. He sat back, cross legged, and grabbed Will’s unmoving hand.

 **  
**“Well, it’s later. Stay u-up with me Solace and I’ll tell you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAH it gets better just wait


	18. Dreams and Hallways

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY i know this is like the first chapter since i got back but still it was a long time coming so im so sorry for the wait!! Let me know what you think! c: 
> 
> ***BIT OF A GORE WARNING AT THE BEGINNING HERE: It's just blood but if you're pretty squeamish then you can skip the italicized dream part if you get too uncomfortable!!***

_The mud only made the blood pooling at his feet look darker. Not that it was his. Solace was there, but it wasn’t Will. Will’s eyes are blue. The Solace in front of him had rippling silver eyes._

_Nico wondered suddenly, just how much blood Solace had to lose before he died. So he was a little less surprised when he realized that the doppelganger pinned to the air by his blade wasn’t feeling any pain._

_“What of this frightens you, Nico?” Solace was speaking with Will’s voice. Unpleasant and slightly off, like just milliseconds after the words left his lips would an echo play. It left a sour, blisteringly cold taste in the mouth of the son of Hades, the boy built of nightmares, the ghost king…_

_He used Will’s body, too, taking one of Will’s freckled hands and gripping the blade until it broke skin._

_“Is it because it was me?” He began pulling the blade deeper into him, dragging himself toward Nico. “Is it because it was you?” He was making horrible squelching sounds as he inched forward._

__

_Squelch._

_Squelch._

_“Or is it,” Solace formed the words around a mouth that wasn’t his, almost hissing them. “because you can’t feel a thing?”_

_Nico ripped back his sword, once obsidian now shimmering in a silver light. Solace teetered for a moment, then collapsed to his knees, eyes unwavering. Horrible, terrible-- the madness in those eyes._

_The truth._

_He couldn’t feel anything. Not a breeze of guilt or fear washed over him as it had so many times before. It wasn’t an average numbness, no, being numb requires you to have felt pain at some point. And Nico couldn’t remember what pain felt like._

_He watched, boredly, as the silver of his eyes began to melt away to blue. He stood firm when a vivid expression of pain contorted the boy-- Will’s-- face. He said nothing when Will made garbled sounds, mumbled something of an apology, and then fell to the earth._

_Mounds of dirt rose and slithered over Will’s motionless frame, covering him completely before dragging him downward._

_Nico watched. Then he turned. The first couple of steps he took made noises in the mud. Squelch._

_Squelch._

_Squelch._

  
\---

“..N...Nico?”

Nico found himself smiling a small sad excuse for a smile at his worse for wear boyfriend. Will’s bluer than blue eyes were hooded with fatigue and the blame for that was partly Nico’s. He had discreetly taken the boy’s pulse while holding his hand and it wasn’t alarming to him in any case. Will was worn out, but Nico was afraid to let him sleep. In this room, where he could dream again…

“Yes?” He answered. Will made a slight frown and pouty face, trying to lift his hand. Nico moved his own hand away as the son of Apollo managed to catch Nico’s cheek in his palm.

He grinned drunkenly. “You… you _love_ me..”

Nico gently swatted his hand away, ignoring the pinkness of his face. Will was delusional from exhaustion, and it’d be adorably funny if they weren’t in this situation. Whatever it was.

“So help me, I do.” He sighed, moving from his place on the bed. _Was he even listening?_

Will squinted at him.

“Where ya goin’?”

Nico grabbed Will by the hands and looped his arms around his neck.“We. Where are we going.” He hooked his arm under Will’s knees, getting an unexpected rush of deja vu, and stood up straight. He gave a final glance around the room, not surprised that neither of their weapons survived the trip.

  
Thankfully, Will was a lot lighter than he looked. Considering what the boy eats, Nico was pleasantly surprised.

“And we,” Will rested his head against Nico’s collar as he began to walk toward the large double doors, elegantly decorated with swirling designs of violet and silver.

“We are getting out of here.”

_Hopefully._

\---

They’d left the door unlocked. A fact Darcy took advantage of as she stepped into the hallway. She noticed right away that it was different from the hallway she entered from. The paintings of the children had changed. They weren’t wearing those hideous smiles anymore.

The air was frigid in this place. There was a distinct smell as well, like dust in the very reaches of an old wardrobe. Like a winter breeze through a shattered window. A last breath, sleepless nights, tears puddling in a favorite sweater…

Empty.

Bare.

Nothing.

On the corner of Nothing and Nowhere…

Her feet-- bare, not that she knew anything about that-- felt along the carpet as it began to fade from violet to grey. She didn’t like the gradient.

Babies cry when they’re born. At least, that’s the sign of a healthy child according to nurses and doctors and whoever else. They take their first breaths in this world and immediately let them loose in a scream of fear. Was it fear? Or perhaps joy?

Darcy didn’t cry when she was born. At least, that’s what Uncle had told her. He said she looked almost disappointed. The nurses were surprised enough to check her for a pulse twice.

Dillon wailed. He came out bellowing so loud, Uncle said he suggested tossing him from the window to one of the nurses as a joke. The nurse didn’t laugh. Neither did Uncle.

Growing up wasn’t any different. Darcy warned Dillon often not to tempt the neighbor’s cat, not that he’d listen. And when he’d run up the path with claw marks on his cheeks and tears in his eyes, Darcy would hold him on the front steps while he cried.

“ _You should mind yourself,_ ” A younger, tanner Darcy would sigh.

Dillon would shake his head and ball his small fists. “ _The cat won’t stop talking, Darce. Make it be quiet, just make it be quiet…_ ”

**  
  
**

Darcy kept walking along the seemingly never ending hallway, not that she had a destination in mind. She was simply tired of being led, and wanted to try her hand at finding the answer herself.

She remembered Camp Half-Blood suddenly; the bright orange smiles, dull eyed stares, the colorless laughter, the colorful arguments.

She recalled the blonde boy, the one with the sun in his hands. Why she never asked for his name… And she recalled Nico, and how understanding he had been. She was grateful and frightened for him. What things had he seen to be so… accepting of someone like her.

The picture frames on the walls slowly began losing their pictures as she continued farther. She felt herself speeding up, walking faster with each new step until she was running, flying down the hall, her long blonde braid whipping out behind her. Voices came from the walls, telling her to run faster and faster and faster and to never stop running because don’t look behind you Darcy, don’t look behind you..

\---

Will had been like this only two other times in his life. The first was when he first discovered his light bending ability. He’d been cocky and had just met new arrival Lou Ellen and wanted to show off. He wound up expelling most of the energy from his body to create an elaborate light show, and then fainted on the spot.

The second had been a few weeks after that incident during a game of capture the flag. One of the other Apollo kids took the game too far and got a young Ares girl seriously injured. Will, desperate to help, miscalculated his energy and spent too much. He didn’t pass out that time, but he had no memory of what happened after that. Only bits and pieces of Lou Ellen taking him to the infirmary, and then all the faces surrounding him. He was told afterward that he was out of it for a few days, but he felt like it’d only been a few hours.

“Nnn…”

“Try not to talk too much, Solace, you need to rest.” Nico had shifted to piggybacking Will as they walked down the hallway. Well, Will assumed it was a hallway. It seemed to go on forever, the violet rug he was glaring at just under Nico’s feet.

His vision was a little blurry and his head felt like someone had spun it in a salad spinner as fast as they could. He was a little queasy but he hoped to gods that he wasn’t about to puke all over his boyfriend.

Will had his cheek pressed to Nico’s shoulder, his arms dangling loosely around his neck. Nico was strong, Will realized, to have carried him this far and for this long. He estimated that they’d been walking for about an hour with no sign of anyone else.

“Nn… Nico..”

“What did I just say about talking, Solace.”

“Nico… wai--”

Nico toppled to the side as the floor and walls shook, the pictureless frames on them trembling. Will fell off his Italian steed, head smacking hard against the wall. He could see colorless spots dancing in his eyes, and two… no, three Nicos staring at him and saying something. Will couldn’t read lips so he had no clue, but Nico didn’t look happy. As the son of Hades reached out and grabbed for Will’s shoulders, there was another shake and an abrupt lurch, and the already disoriented blonde found himself on his back, Nico practically straddling him.

Will giggled and Nico stammered what Will presumed was an insult; he still couldn’t hear anything except the monotone ringing in his ears.

Another lurch sent the pair rolling backwards, landing on top of each other like a dogpile. Will coughed and sneezed, dust pillowing up and causing him to sneeze again.

Nico stumbled to his feet only to trip over a chain that was stiffly holding up a light. It was a funny looking lamp, Will thought, but he’d seen much funnier.

The ringing soon subsided and Nico’s voice faded into life.

“Wha… what the... Will, c’mon, can you stand?”

Will saw a hand in front of him, gesturing upwards in a blurry path, and though he reached for it, he was only grabbing at air. The hand eventually gave up waiting on him and grasped at his wrist, pulling upward with more force than expected, causing Will to lean rather heavily on Nico, who struggled to get him upright.

Groggily, Will got himself to his feet, looking up at the… floor.

That earthquake or whatever it was seemed to have twisted the entire hallway upside down, except it _couldn’t_ have. The lights were dangling from chains, yet they hadn’t moved an inch or shattered in the slightest. The atmosphere itself seemed to thicken at the realization, and the surreality seemed to jar Will’s previously out-of-commision senses.

 **  
**“Nico?” Will cleared his throat, but his voice still sounded a little rough. “Now may nnn.. not be a good t-time to a-ask… but… where _are_ we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going for a whole Inception thing like the part in the hotel when the hallway just turns, except a lot less graceful and a lot more surreal hopefully~<3  
> look for a new update NEXT THURSDAY and who knows maybe they'll be one im so bad at this ;//;


	19. Brother Dear, Brother Dear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3 hey so this one is probably my favorite. well this one plus the next one so. <3  
> also a week is such a long time to wait for an update ughh i'm just gonna go back to updating when i can BUUUUT **I START SCHOOL ON MONDAY*** 
> 
> that isn't to say i'm going on hiatus for school but don't be surprised if i do make a similar announcement around test dates and whatnot!!

Time is such a strange concept, and there are even times when time itself feels like it doesn’t exist, and everyone is just floating along endlessly and without care, and at that very moment, Darcy believed she couldn’t care any _less_.

Her mindless dashing carried her quite far, and as she panted and gulped down air, a large entryway revealed itself behind the tearing and scarred wallpaper. It was taller than Darcy could see, it’s top melting into the endless above, and it was beautiful and daunting. The marble trimming was painted with shining silver designs, swirling twirling endlessly floating along…

A laugh bubbled up from her throat and spilled out of her mouth. It was such a foreign sound to her, she wondered what she looked like with her wild loose hair and her hazel eyes gleaming with something unknown and free and _wonderful!_

She spun on the spot, imagining that she was wearing a long golden dress that spun with her and sent sparks out in every direction. Oh, she didn’t care! How long had she been in this place? What did it matter! Time didn’t matter, this place didn’t matter, nothing mattered!

“Nothing matters!” She sang, twirling herself through the entryway and into the largest, most fanciful ballroom Darcy had ever dreamed of. Chandeliers hung low from a spaceless ceiling, there was a large table adorned with the tastiest looking food she’d ever seen and it stretched for miles, looping around the room at least once. Music was spiraling in the air, threatening to sweep her away by her feet. The wallpaper was untouched and was royal violet in color and speckled with designs of emerald green, dragging Darcy’s eyes along its pattern until she wanted to crawl inside the walls and live there forever.

If she tried squinting, even people appeared. They wore the most splendid clothes; ball gowns spilling over with pearls and diamonds, shimmering with each graceful spin, and sharp edged suits with ruffles and splashes of the most eye popping colors, practically dancing by themselves. Though they were nameless, faceless people, Darcy found herself envying their decadent attire and carefree aura.

“You’ve arrived!” Came a voice, lovely and free of worry… Darcy turned to meet this new arrival, discovering that the dress she’d previously imagined herself wearing had become all too real to be just a dream. Her feet even found themselves dressed in glittering golden shoes, and her hair was braided and piled onto her head, stuck in place with sunflowers.

The boy in front of her was similarly dressed; a stunning silver tailcoat complete with matching silver shoes. His hair, sandy blonde, was the kind of mess that was purposefully stylish, and his eyes were…

Were…

The music, once carefree and light, started to slow almost as if the record had been broken. The gorgeous people vanished one after the other, and the eye grabbing wallpaper turned sour and grey and Darcy… Darcy didn’t feel so carefree anymore.

Venomous green eyes twinkled at the reaction, extending an arm toward Darcy with a bow of his head. With a vicious smirk, Dillon gave his dear sister a wink.

“Care for a dance?”

It matters, all of it. Everything, every little thing matters. And it _hurt_.

With a small wince, Darcy chased away the comfortable fuzz that had been crowding her mind, regaining lost senses, the first of which screamed danger. She moved to step back only to find herself being swept into motion, her dead brother’s arms holding her close and spinning to music only he seemed to hear.

Dillon broke off into a fit of laughter, twirling Darcy gracefully. “Isn’t this just a beautiful party?” He gazed out around them at the broken chairs and withering wallpaper. There were no guests anymore, and the extravagant food looked (and smelled) rotten.

“I see only dull and sad things.” Darcy admitted quietly.

“Ah!” Dillon dipped her, grinning in a way that sent sparks of worry through Darcy. “That’s because--” he jerked her upward again with a flourish. “You stopped giving in to it! The madness, Darcy, the beautiful madness!”

His voice dipped into sing-song. “For she’s a mad little princess, for she’s a mad little princess!” He spun them both together, making Darcy’s head feel like jell-o. “For she’s a mad little princess, whom nobody can deny!” Dillon laughed, and it was the familiarity of the sound that made Darcy’s gut pool with a bitter warmth.

On their 11th birthday, Darcy had made Dillon a homemade birthday card that she’d filled with glitter. He’d made the mistake of opening the card over the birthday cake, and for weeks afterward they’d find dots of the stuff littering all around the house, and even in their pockets. Every time Dillon would pull out a handful of glitter from his pant pockets, he’d laugh like it was their birthday all over again.

Darcy’s present had been the neighbor’s cat, which she returned soaked with sparkles with an extensive apology and explanation.

She’d had enough, this was too much, it hurt too much. She ripped her hands away and took a few paces back.

Darcy meant to sound sinister, but only succeeded in sounding pitiful. “Wh-who are you?”

“Just give in to it, Darcy.” Dillon’s voice went soft, but his eyes only shone brighter. He was smiling like he hadn’t a care in the world.

“It’s better if you do, everything will be beautiful again, I promise.”

Forcefully, Darcy shook her head, stepping back further away. “N-No,” she said. “No, I came here to meet mother and to go back home, I didn’t come here… I didn’t come all the way _here_ for _this_!”

Dillon didn’t seem to register a word Darcy had said, and he took strides toward her, hand outstretched and reaching.

“We could dance again, and it would change your mi--”

“ _NO._ ”

Darcy’s voice startled even herself, but she had _had it_. This sickening feeling settling in her heart was tearing her to shreds. This was all in her head wasn’t it? It had to be, what else was there? Lifting her hands, Darcy set them over her ears, squeezing her tearful eyes shut. All a dream… nothing matters…

She opened her eyes again, hazel eyes sparkling with flecks of gold. “You’re not real.” She said strongly.

Dillon’s lips curved into a wicked grin, eyes flashing emerald with silver specks.

“I’m so sorry Darcy dear, but I’m afraid I am.”

\---

Nico practically felt gravity dragging his aching frame down with each agonizing step down the neverending hallway of exhaustion and structure fluctuations.

He wiped sweat off his forehead. “Does this hallway ever end?”

Will was upright and semi-aware of the world again, after a few hours of staggering with his arm around Nico’s neck and rambling nonstop about how much he loved Nico’s eyes.

(“But they… they’re just sss... _so pretty…_ ”

“Will. Please. For the love of Hera--”

“ _Hera?_ Nobody loves Hera! Hera is… is nnn..not nice.”

“Will.”

“You’re nice.”

“-sigh- Thank you.”)

They’d been walking on the ceiling for quite a while now, dust puffing from under their feet with each relentless drag onward to Hades knows where.

Nico grumbled. How was there even dust on the ceiling in the first place? Why did this crazy hotel make no sense? Twice now the hallway itself twisted completely, knocking both demigods around like ragdolls. When they came to a door, Nico flung it open only to reveal the wall. It was like the entire place was mocking them.

“I think we’re in a place that Lyssa created,” Nico said wearily, feeling Will move closer to him until they were bumping shoulders. “It has that dark energy feel to it… plus we were shadowtravelled here by a phantom, which makes sense with her being the Goddess of ghosts and all.”

Will’s head tilted and landed on Nico’s, a nose nuzzling the top of his head.

“You mean that blonde dude? He’s a phantom?” Will’s voice rumbled and cracked. Nico had never seen him when he overloaded before, at first it was amusing and maybe even a little adorable, but now he looked like he could drop any second. His eyes were hooded and barely focused and he drifted in and out of the conversation as if in the next second he’d forget what he was saying.

The son of Hades shook his head, shaking Will’s with it. “No, a phantom is mindless, formless. That guy was completely in control of his own actions, I think he’s is more of a ghost.”

Will nodded, causing Nico’s hair to frizz. “An evil ghost.” He muttered the conclusion and tripped over his feet, jolting up and stumbling a few paces before settling back into his steps. His cheeks lit up slightly, but he looked like he didn’t have the energy to even be embarrassed.

“You saved my life, Will.” Nico spoke softly. Will must’ve not heard him, as he didn’t reply and kept moving mindlessly forward.

A little relieved and a little disappointed, Nico shoved his hands into his jacket pockets roughly. He jumped at the touch of something smooth and pulled out the obsidian black marble Erecura had given him. His eyes opened wide.

_Of course! Why am I such an idiot?_ Nico grabbed Will by the shoulder and began to shake gently. _This is our way out of here! We call Erecura and she’ll--_

Nico flinched at the high pitched shrill that assaulted his ears, throwing his hands over his head in surprise.

_NO._

It was as if fire had enveloped every part of him and was _squeezing._

Will gingerly touched the backs of Nico’s hands, a look of pure confusion on his freckled face. The son of Hades opened his mouth to explain, only to be cut off by another teeth-clenching scream.

_NO!_

“Nico? Nico, what’s happening?” Will’s fingers suddenly felt warm and Nico jerked away, shaking his head. Dizzying displays of light twinkled in front of him and died out, dripping out of the air like ash.

“D-Don’t… you’re still weak…” He mumbled as the sound faded, leaving behind a burning, throbbing headache.

_Darcy is here_ , Nico’s breathing was a little rough, but he was otherwise in stable condition. He carefully looked himself over for signs of fading, but found none, thankfully. Fading right now would probably be the worst thing to happen.

_I hope I didn’t just jinx myself…_

Nico took a moment to collect himself before looking up into Will’s outrageously blue and worried gaze.

“She’s here. Darcy is.” He reached for Will’s hand, and the blonde didn’t hesitate to take it. “And I know where to find her. The tricky part is going to be--”

Without any noise at all, the hallway lights flickered out one by one from each end. The two demigods watched with anticipation as the light just above them followed suit before they were standing in the worst sort of darkness.

Nico felt Will’s hand tighten around his, and the dark haired boy tugged his boyfriend closer in an attempt to comfort him. (Not that anyone saw, but his face turned bright pink at the gesture.) The light had taken the heat with it, and if they could see, they’d surely see their breath hovering frozen in the air in front of their mouths.

“Nico.”

“Hm?”

“Don’t freak out.”

“What? Will, what’re you--”

The sudden and familiar warmth that stretched out from Nico’s hand cut him off, and his eyes slowly widened at the tendrils of rose-colored light weaving through the boys’ fingers. It wrapped up Will’s arm like a silk ribbon and ignited when it hit his chest, surrounding the two in a pale pink aura. It emitted a soft light, and Nico was sure it smelled like apples, though he didn’t know why.

Nico cleared his throat, “U-Um, Will--”

“Please don’t freak out.” He gave Nico a pleading glance, a shade of pink replacing the lapis that colored his eyes.

“I didn’t know you could do this…” Nico tried his hardest not to sound as impressed as he actually was, but it was hard not to stare at Will’s eyes, even if he was darting them around to avoid eye contact.

“God of light… and all…” Will used his free hand to rub the back of his head nervously. “Color can’t exist without it.. a-and stuff.” He muttered.

Nico reached up a hand to poke at Will’s cheek, wondering if the warmth was coming from there. “Sure, but why is this light pi--”

“No reason.” Will said way too quickly, the light expanding and brightening ever so slightly. Nico wasn’t about to let the boy drop the subject, but a sharp tug in his gut distracted his intentions. He winced, head jerking to the left, where a new hall had apparently grown out in the darkness.

He tugged on Will’s hand and pointed.

“That way,” Nico said, unsure of how confident he was sounding.

“How do you know?”

The younger demigod shook his head, hazarding a few steps forward.

“That’s a good question.”

\---

Darcy remembered it, all of it, all too clearly. The way it felt, the way it smelled, how time seemed to stall while she clutched his body and cried. The trees rustled their leaves to the wind she couldn’t feel. She couldn’t feel anything. Tears were landing in pools in her lap and Darcy Devlin felt _nothing._

And now, as she stood with her golden sword in one hand and her brother’s silver one in the other, Darcy wondered if she was feeling. The person in front of her, poised with his own sword of ash, was not Dillon. He was not the brother she wept for in those woods, nor was he the one that gave her nightmares and triggered her attacks.

“You hadn’t given me any choice.” Her words held no venom, only raw truth as she said them, lifting her swords to block the mad-eyed boy’s hasty attack. She pushed him back, swiping with her silver blade across his chest, missing his body by centimeters and instead ripping a gash through his beautiful suit.

Dillon spat at her, moving into a position to strike. “Choice? And what of this makes you believe either of us have _choices?_ ” He struck quickly, thrusting at Darcy’s side. She only barely dodged when she had to parry a downward blow, using her strength to thrust at his wielding arm. She cut him deep enough to bleed, though she wasn’t surprised when he didn’t.

Darcy’s dress had been slashed and her hair was falling down slightly, but her eyes were unwavering. Her swords were both raised in waiting.

“We’ve always had choices,” She watched as Dillon began circling her. “And you made yours back then, in those woods.” Dillon vanished like smoke from her sight, reappearing directly behind her. The slash was blocked with a loud clang, Darcy staring right at him like he’d never even moved.

“And I’m making mine.”

The bright green of his eyes flashed with fury and Dillon lost all qualities of looking human. His pupils stretched long and his eyes shone dangerously, he opened his mouth to scream and fangs forced their way from his gums.

Dillon’s ash sword began to grow larger and morph with his hand, abandoning its traditional Ancient Celtic design and sprouting sword heads from every side until it looked like Dillon was wielding a very sharp, very dangerous branch of blades.

They used to climb trees, when they were younger. Uncle would warn them not to, muttering nonsense about the trees _knowing_ things, but they’d never listen. Darcy would climb up first, securing the branch farthest from the ground as her perch. She’d watch everything from up there. Rainstorms that haven’t made it to their house just yet, birds letting the wind carry them to warmer lands, Dillon running up the hill covered in fresh bruises with a bundle of pinecones in his arms and his favorite slingshot in his mouth.

_That poor cat._

The Dillon of the present backhanded Darcy with his mutated hand, and though she was raised to block, the power of it sent her flying backward into the wall. The impact ripped the air out of her lungs, and she doubled over on the floor in shock.

She could feel the warmth leaking from the back of her head and trailing down her neck, but she staggered to her feet anyway, licking the blood that erupted from her lip.

It was Uncle who taught her how to defend herself with a sword, entrusting her with his great grandmother’s prized silver ring. The ring, however, would not change for her and was given to Dillon as a gift. She received Uncle’s father’s golden ring, which sprung into action at the dinner table, slicing the roast chicken in half.

“ _These swords choose their wielders carefully,_ ” Uncle had explained. “ _You must be very special, Darcy._ ”

_I never wanted to be special._

Darcy lifted her two swords, gritted her teeth, and crossed them in front of her. Dillon’s rage was palpable, and he charged at a speed she’d never seen before, the branch of swords outstretched in front of him. Her grip tightened on her golden blade, then released on the silver, sending the sword crashing to the ground.

She tasted the tears and blood in her mouth.

Time is such a strange concept, and there are even times when time itself feels like it doesn’t exist.

The daughter of Lyssa was watching her dead brother charge wildly at her with a sword with a dozen heads when time stopped existing. She could see the blind frenzy in his eyes. Dillon was always praised for his beautiful green eyes by the women in town. Behind their hands they’d say he was troublesome, express their sympathies for the ‘plain-looking twin,’ and scold them both for neglecting their studies to climb trees and stargaze.

A small smile cracked along her face as she remembered. _We were such simple children._ Darcy lifted a hand and stroked Dillon’s cheek, face frozen with a look of fury.

“What happened to us Dilly?” She asked quietly, moving until she was standing beside him. This had to be the affects of the madness seeping into her mind. She was holding herself together by strands of glass, and when Dillon readied to kill her she… she slipped. It was only for a second, half that, but it was in her again and it was wrapping around her head squeezing and pulling until nothing mattered. Nothing but Madness.

  
The smile widened briefly, exposing shark-like teeth. Darcy didn’t care. Darcy was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's a room in a hotel in New York City...


	20. A Pair of Pink-Flushed Idiotas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a bit short, but full of the cheesiest cheese i could whip up <3 (**I start school TOMORROW and i already wanna ram my head into a brick wall :c but I'll keep any updates or hiatus notices on my tumblr (soupella.tumblr.com , i don't know how to link things here so sorry) and you can also send me messages about the fic there too, if you have questions or to inform me of any spelling errors bc lets be real i type too quick for my brain sometimes**)
> 
> what happened to these titles

Nico was waving his hand through the pale pink light which blanketed them watching it swirl and spin.

“So… you’ve done this before?”

“Eh… ahem, uh…” Will wondered if Nico could feel the sweat on his hand as he led them through the weaving hallways. “Maybe… once? Twice?”

_Every time I saw you before the battle with Gaea…_

Nico tugged on Will’s hand, turning to the left down a different dark hallway. Looking down, he saw the carpet was a sickening mustard yellow and decorated with too many naked babies with sharp weaponry. And it just _smelled_ wrong.

“Oh,” the son of Hades stepped a touch closer to the blonde. “And has the light always been so… pepto?”  

_One time I caught you walking out of your cabin first thing in the morning and it was actually_ bright _red._

Will coughed, feeling warm under his shirt. Was it getting hotter? Where is this place located, a volcano?  

“N-No.”

“Uh-huh. Okay, Pinky. Here, go right.”

Another sly slide closer and Nico was touching shoulders with him, eyes hooded and mouth quirked up in a knowing grin. Will squirmed a bit, taking the risk and looking at him in the eye. He swallowed as Nico opened his mouth and tilted his head up to speak right in Will’s ear.

“ _Idiota_.”

The hallway exploded in light that was pinker than a baby’s buttcheek and Will ripped his arm away from Nico, backing against the wall with wide bubblegum eyes and a permanent blush splashed across his freckles, which were also dotting up the color of cotton candy.

For a few seconds, the light swirled from around Nico’s hand before leaving him in the dark. The light around Will’s head was forming shapes and twinkling, but soon it faded and the hallway fell dark again, with the great pink beacon still standing against the wall.

Will couldn’t see Nico in the blackness, but he’d bet that the dark haired demigod was smiling like a madman. For a moment, Will lifted a hand to reach out to him, but stopped. Gods, he was pathetic wasn’t he? One Italian insult could make him flare up and huddle against a wall, wanting to just extinguish it but not being able to. His entire body was full of butterflies and they were on _fire_ and he had nothing to smother them with.

He dropped his hand, looking at the carpet.

“Sss.. s-sorry I… um…”

“Will?” His voice was soft, apologetic. Will saw his hand slowly appear in the light to touch his own, and he instinctively took it, lighting up the rest of Nico’s body to find a concerned look etched onto his face.

Nico’s head drooped. “What was that about?” He asked the question quietly, like he knew he was treading on thin ice. Gods he looked like a sad puppy.

“It’s… okay.” Will tried his best to smile and make it genuine. He must have failed because Nico only narrowed his caramel eyes and gave his hand a gentle squeeze, pulling him along as he continued walking.

Silence took them for a while, keeping the air thick and stale and feeding whatever was gnawing inside of Will. The light was still pink, but it was much dimmer than before, and more than once both boys stumbled over unseen debris.

Nico sighed. It wasn’t an impatient sigh, or the kind a parent does when their child misbehaves. It was like he was trying to psych himself up for something.

He stopped walking and faced Will, his other hand punching into his pocket.

“Please tell me.” He mumbled the words, but Will would’ve heard them even if he never opened his mouth. They were written all over his face, bolded, in size 48 Times New Roman font, underlined _twice_.

The light aura flickered, which startled Nico but didn’t surprise Will. It was hard to keep the aura alive when he felt so…

“That dream,” Will started, avoiding looking the younger demigod in the face. “Back at Helga’s cabin. You said y-you…” He stuttered, biting his lower lip to concentrate. “...you said you l-loved me and ever since then I’ve felt…” Will ignored the slight tremor to his skin, glancing quickly at Nico who was wide eyed and waiting.

“Like I.. didn’t deserve it. You.”

Nico opened his mouth to respond but it was like Will had cracked open a dam; the words fell out of his mouth and he couldn’t stop them. He told him everything. The dream back at Helga’s, how it felt like Will could run forever and Nico would always be out of reach. The dream where he killed him, how he felt like he was dying but it was almost a relief cause then he’d be free from the _why_ and free from the feeling that Nico loving him meant much more than him loving Nico.

They were sitting now, next to each other with their backs to the wall, soft pink light allowing them to see the other. Nico had tears in his eyes. Will felt so empty, but he kept going.

“When we first started dating, I don’t think it caught up to me that it was _real_. And that night I found you in your cabin, it kind of… clicked. You were actually suffering and in pain, and I was what? ...Whining?...

Ever since we started this quest I’ve only wanted to protect you, but you’ve been the one protecting me. I feel so… pathetic... “

“Will, you’ve helped me more than you know.” Nico laid a head on the son of Apollo’s shoulder. “Just because someone is hurting, doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to feel pain of your own.” Will only sighed, exhausted after this purge of emotion, the aura diluting itself further until he could barely make out Nico’s features.

“When I asked you if you loved me,” Nico said softly. “I thought you’d say no.”

There was a surprise. Will squinted in the faint light, catching a sheen glitter across the boy’s eyes.

“I thought… it was all too _good_.” He lifted his head, running an olive hand through the bangs over his eyes. “And when I asked… I thought… I'd  _hoped_ you’d say no.

Then you started crying and I’ve never felt worse. I thought I was right, that you didn’t love me, that you finally realized what a mistake this was and you wanted out.”

“Nico--”

“And then you said yes.” He laughed to himself, bitterly, wiping his eyes with his sleeves. “I was… gods, Will, I was _happy_. And… ‘happy’ hasn’t always been easy for me… y’know?” Nico bumped shoulders with Will, hiding his face.

“..Thanks Solace.”

Will felt the knot in his throat tighten and the one in the pit of his stomach untangle and dissolve. The aura pulsed along with his steady heartbeat, growing brighter as he breathed. It swam in the air in front of him, igniting the hallway and chasing away every shadowed corner. The light was starlily pink and much stronger than it had been before. It smelled like an apple orchard and it felt just as cozy.

He wasn’t looking, but he knew Nico was watching him with awe in his eyes. He could feel it and it turned his cheeks red. Any other arguments he had were shattered, and Will turned to look at Nico’s face. He was no longer crying, only watching the light extend from Will’s chest. He glanced up and found Will’s eyes, tears brimming but refusing to fall.

Will cracked a grin, a hand reaching up and rubbing at his eyes.

“Y-You’re welcome di Angelo.”

\---

After helping his starry-eyed, pink flushed boyfriend from off the hideous carpet, Nico felt a strong surge of energy in his gut, pulling him right into the wall they’d been sitting against. He flinched when the wallpaper began to tear itself back, revealing a secret corridor, lit with candlelight.

The two demigods gave each other a look and a shrug, Will letting his perfectly pink aura die off with a slight sigh of what Nico assumed was relief. He grabbed the boy’s hand anyway, leading him.

“Do you think she’s okay?” The question had been nagging in the back of Nico’s mind for hours and it was really stressing the guy out, wisps of black have been swirling around his feet for awhile now. (Not that he was about to tell _Will_ that.)

The son of Apollo squeezed his hand gently. “She has to be. I mean, you’re feeling her energy right? That has to mean she’s… okay.”

_Alive_. Alive was the word he’d meant to say.

Nico gave Will a worried glance, picking up the pace of their walk. “The energy I’m feeling is really, _really_ dark, Will, I’m not even one-hundred percent sure if--”

“It’s her.” Will’s eyes had hardened somewhat. He believed what he was saying very strongly. Nico bit his lip before nodding.

“Then we’d better hurry, I think we’re getting closer.”

No sooner had they started running did the candles begin to blow out behind them. Nico noticed the picture frames on the walls as they ran. They looked like antiques, except no two frames were from the same era. Some were silver and black ovals, others wooden and square with golden decoratives in the corners.

Only a portion of the frames actually had images in them, and Nico was surprised enough by the portraits to stumble to a walk before stopping completely. This, in turn, surprised Will, who slammed into his back with a grunt.

“Wha--?”

Nico shushed him, eyes transfixed on the rather large portrait that extended from the ceiling and barely scraped the dusty green rug. It pictured one adult; a woman with soft features and a gentle grin, dressed head to toe in a dress of varying shades of violet. Her eyes were dark grey in color, and something terrifying glinted behind them, like she knew all of their secrets. Their weak points.

At her feet were two children, infants almost. They were nearly identical, except one of the children had bright green eyes while the other had hazel ones. Their clothes were a complete contrast to the woman’s; matching black t-shirts which were too big for both of them. They were holding hands. The green-eyed child was smiling, toothless and giggling. The child with hazel eyes seemed somber despite their tiny smile, staring at Nico with a familiar expression he couldn’t quite place…

Will shook Nico’s shoulder, snapping him out of his trance.

“As much as I want to stare at you staring at paintings, we have to go.” He pointed behind them, the candles blowing out much faster now and, thanks to the delay, were catching up to the both of them.

Nico looked at the painting one last time, turning to start running again. He stuttered, staring up at a portrait of two small children, one with no woman in violet behind them.

Another shake from Will and Nico ran with him, something dark and shockingly warm twisting in his gut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoooo are you? who who, who who 
> 
> i bet you can guess it's not that hard but yknow what, YKNOW WHAT there's so much more twist coming friends SO MUCH MORE also did you catch the small lesson i put in here bc i know how it feels to feel like your pain is so much less in comparison to someone else's but that doesn't mean you aren't hurting, and you do deserve to be understood and acknowledged for it SORRY IM SO SAPPY ///
> 
> (also my friend allee was my editor for this chapter along with a few others, if you wanna follow her too she's alleebeth.tumblr.com and she works bullshit hours so please love her) (also she has never read pjo or hoo before if you wanna yell at her for that thaaaanks <3)


	21. Sister Sweet, Sister Sweet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( the song playing!! ---> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0nx_E6iz3I at 1.5 speed] if you wanted to listen and read )
> 
> Ayy so this is the first update since school has started ;n; I come home every day completely exhausted bc let's be real, I'm not a healthy person and sleep is... hard. BUT I have the idea that once I get back into the swing of dedicating 7 hours of my time to learn knowledge that doesn't apply to my chosen career (wanna guess what that is anyone), I'll come home less tired and be able to work more.
> 
> I DID have a plan to work from my phone, but their are new phone policies since every year some jackasses get into a fight on Twitter and it "becomes a distraction" so we can't have them out anymore for any reason unless someone is dying and it's so stupid
> 
> u//u anyway

Each stride forward fired off another round of incendiaries in Nico’s stomach, causing shadowy swirls to pillow up as he ran with Will chasing behind him, swatting at the shadows. Will had asked several times now if Nico was alright, and Nico hated it, but he lied through his teeth each time.

“I’m fine.” He’d hiss, knowing that Will wasn’t buying it from the way he muttered under his breath.

They had to be getting closer, judging from how the pain kept swelling. The picture frames on the walls had all vanished and been replaced with mirrors. They were very ornate and complicated, some as large as the wall while others could only reflect one eye back at you. They were rather off putting.

The corridor finally opened up into another hallway, revealing in front of the two boys the largest door Nico had ever seen. He was hesitant to step forward, but Will charged past and started pushing as hard as he could. The door remained firmly shut.

There were no handles to be seen, and it truly appeared as though the door were simply painted onto the wall; a trick designed to fool a pair of worse for wear demigods, still panting from their sprint fest earlier.

Nico was biting his lip. Darcy was definitely behind this door but… He reached out a hand and felt the cool stone beneath his fingers.

Will was studying the door from top to bottom, eyes narrowed in thought. A hand reached up to his head and absentmindedly began tugging and twirling a blonde lock of hair between its fingers. He was focused. Nico was focused on watching his boyfriend focus.

The son of Apollo turned to Nico suddenly, causing the dark-haired boy to jump, color exploding in his cheeks. Will gave a shy grin and gestured a hand to the door.

“Do you think it only opens by some sort of magic?”

Nico shook his head again. “I… It doesn’t feel like the door is even… here.” He pressed his hand against the surface harder, not trying to push it open. Trying to push _past_ it.  

_Goddess of Madness and Chaos and Ghosts…_

Under his hand Nico felt a slight shift in the wall, almost like it were sinking, and suddenly he wasn’t leaning on anything and stumbled forward _through_ the door. Like a ghost.

Nico heard Will’s panicked “Nico?!” on the other side, so he called back to him to assure that he was, in fact, not dead. Not again. At least for the moment. Will didn’t think it was funny, Nico was sure he’d heard him kick the door and then curse in Ancient Greek.

The room he’d quite literally fallen into was enormous and lavishly decorated, despite the puddles of what he was sure was blood and the tendrils of long hair that curled on the floor. The wallpaper looked as though at one point it was vibrant and bright, but now was only torn and grey and dull.  He could make out the sounds of music, but he wasn’t sure what the song was called, only that it was familiar and somewhat sad. The entire scene was, as Lou Ellen would say, something out of a horror movie.

He turned back to the door, reaching his hand through.

“Here,” he said, feeling for Will who was most likely staring dumbfounded at the door Nico ghosted through. “You should see this.”

He tugged Will in by the hand, finding the incredulous look on his face to be rather amusing. Will’s eyes explored the room for only a second when he suddenly said:

“Fantasy in D Minor… but they’re playing it too fast.” Will’s nose scrunched up, and he waved a hand at the tables with plates of food on them. “Also I think most of that is spoiled.”

The dark haired demigod had to agree, the food was completely rank. He wondered how long it had been, then, that this place had been forgotten.

The two boys ventured hesitantly into the room- a ballroom, according to Will- hearing the music play on, the speed of it clearly making both of them uncomfortable.

Will stooped, gingerly picking up a tendril of hair and holding it in his palm.

“Nico,” he whisper-hissed and gestured him to come over, showing him the hair in his hand. It was sandy blonde in color, but flecks of something dark made it sticky and stain Will’s fingers red.

Nico was nodding, he’d seen them when they’d walked in. He looked to Will’s eyes. They were still staring at the hair, almost unbelievably, almost sadly…

The son of Apollo’s voice cracked the second time he spoke,

“You don’t think… Darcy…”

“No.” Nico brushed the hair out of Will’s grasp gently, replacing it with his own as he pulled his boyfriend to his feet again. The certainty of his answer no longer surprised him as he started trusting in his abilities, but Will didn’t look so easily convinced.

He opened his mouth to prove it to him, somehow, when he heard a laugh echo and bounce of the withered walls and practically dance around the two of them. It was a girl’s voice.

“What’s that look for?” She asked, the sound coming from directly behind them. They both spun on the spot, looking for her, for Darcy, and grimaced bitterly at empty air.

Invisa-Darcy giggled, behind them again. “Uhp, there it is again. Goodness, you two sure popped in at an awkward time, didn't cha?”

_Awkward time…?_

The world erupted then, Will stumbling to stay upright and Nico instinctively reaching for his sword, only to be reminded that he didn’t exactly have it. The music was no longer muffled sounding, exploding out of the newly wallpapered walls and echoing throughout the now very intricate ballroom.

Ornate and decorative furniture faded into life the longer Nico concentrated, and the food actually smelled pretty good. He winced when his stomach growled, forgetting the last time either of them had eaten. _Probably not since Helga’s Cabin…_ He thought bitterly, finding comfort in the fact that Will was also staring at the food with stars in his eyes, practically drooling.

Both boys’ food-related daydreams were shattered by a ear-splitting, gut churning roar coming from the opposite end of the ballroom. Between the two of their worried stares, Darcy herself appeared, seemingly unconcerned with whatever beast was lurking, slinging an arm around either boy’s shoulders and pulling them close for a quick hug.

“I have to say,” she said, not sounding like the Darcy Nico had met in the infirmary cabin at all. “I wasn’t expecting either of you to come.” She pressed her cheek to Will’s and grinned.

“Least of all you, sunshine fingers.”

“Will.” Will supplied, slightly pink from the name _sunshine fingers_.

The daughter of Lyssa released both of them, turning them by their shoulders to face her.

Darcy’s eyes were wrong. They were golden-not hazel- and too snake-like. Her clothes were wrong, her hair was.. wrong. Nico felt his stomach clench. _We’ve been duped_ … He thought, grabbing Will by the wrist. _This is a trick… she can’t be…_

“You’ll have to forgive the appearance,” Darcy gestured down to her gold dress, torn and ripped and bloodstained. She twirled a lock of hair that had been resting on her cheek, the rest of it half falling from its updo and chopped unevenly in different places.

She sighed, “Though I’ve been meaning to get a trim.”

Another roar took Nico and Will’s attention, the demigods spinning to face whatever monster demanded their notice. Darcy boredly looked on, her golden blade slung over her shoulders. (Nico had noticed Will eyeing the sword warily, and since he was still holding his wrist he could feel his pulse pick up at the sight of it.)

It stepped out into the light then, all torn dress clothes and blood spatters, (to which Darcy informed them both with a cherry smile that the blood was hers) too humanesque to be referred to as an ‘it’ any longer. He had sandy blonde hair and a gentlemanly smile that looked sewn onto his face, but it wasn’t until Nico found the creature’s eyes did the blood drain from his cheeks.

Silver eyes.

He had to grab Will’s shoulder to steady himself. _Silver eyes_ …

“ _What of this frightens you, Nico?”_ The voice shook the inside of his skull, causing pain to run deep behind his eyes and throb there. He vaguely felt Will’s hand on his face, patting his cheeks, trying to get him to come to.

_Horrible, terrible-- the madness in those eyes…_

Nico felt the weight of his sword in his hand, he saw the bloodless wound and the stitched together grin, and he heard…

_Squelch._

_Squelch._

_Squelch._

Will was saying his name now, and things like “It’s okay, Neeks, it’s okay..” Darcy was standing next to him, the gold of her eyes shifting into something more human and concerned.

_Silver eyes._

Silver-eyes himself took his free hand-- the one that wasn’t mutated into some sort of lethal weapon-- and dusted off his dress pants, as if that would clean up any amount of blood on it. He cleared his throat, looking not at all like a creature who could’ve emit such a powerful noise from earlier, and winked at Nico.

Nico wanted to puke suddenly.

“Oh, what’s that look for?” He asked in mimic to what Darcy had said earlier, his voice too smooth and too dark. “You look like you don’t remember me, Casper. I’m so hurt.” He faked a wince, turning his eyes to Will, where they instantly hooded as his lips curved into a wicked smile. In a literal blink, Silver-eyes eyes flashed snake-skin green.

“How about now?”

Nico spat at the ground, unamused by the parlor trick. He looked different than when he’d first met him, so it was no wonder he hardly recognized the new face. And arm.

“And sunspot is alive and kicking I see! Tell me,” The ghost chuckled to himself for a moment. “Did you have a nice nap?”

Will’s fists had clenched, but Nico held fast onto his wrist tugging him just a smidge closer to where he stood, fire bursting from his gut. The sandy-haired nightmare broke into laughter at the gesture, wiping his eyes the best he could with one hand.

Darcy stepped in front of the two demigods, sword held at the ready in front of her, eyes glittering.

“Dillon,” her voice was heavy and edged with something sharp. “Your fight is with me, not with them.” She suddenly sounded so serious, nothing like the mad grinned, bright eyed girl from before. Something dark was laced in her tone, and it was rather frightening.

“Dillon…” Will repeated quietly. Nico turned to look at the son of Apollo, tugging on his wrist to get him to look him in the face, to tell him why he knew that name. He didn’t.

_Dillon_ , he racked his brain, trying to recall if he'd ever heard that name before. _Dillon, Dillon_ …

 **  
**“Ah,” Dillon threw looks between Will and Nico before eyeing Darcy once more. “But I’m _so_ flexible.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Dillon <3 and by the end of this fic you're gonna love him too don't even worry~~~
> 
> (as far as schedules go, I've never really had one, but I might have to stick with weekly updates, probably on Fridays? sorry I know it's a longish wait but I have homework and probably gonna have a project at some point which means I'll have talk to people ew) (I went off there didn't I? /// Sorry, anyway, Friday will be ficday!) :3c


	22. Daughter of Madness, Chaos, and Ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's so late! I'm a little sick and I just had to wrap up an essay for my English class and figure out how to send it in but no worries I got it done! c: Also I think I just have a little cold or something so don't worry, the next update will be on schedule!
> 
> <3

Dillon was too hasty in his charge at young sunshine fingers, Darcy was there to block the attack before the blue-eyed demigod could even think about dodging. She wondered where their weapons were for a second, then chastised herself. Obviously Dillon had taken them didn’t he?

_Always were a horrid cheat._

She turned her head sideways, side glancing at Nico. His eyes were dark and hard, the look of a soldier etched into his features until he looked too old for his young age. Darcy had to wonder if Will could see the inky blackness coiling around the son of Hades’ ankles, then decided that he could when he grabbed Nico by the hand and began pulling him away.

Nico protested, “We have to help!”

_Ever the dark hero_ , Darcy sighed. She returned her attention to the hissing, foaming madman in front of her, fending him off and staying on the defense, looking for some sort of opening. Dillon’s movements were jerky, like he was a puppet on a string, dancing to a tune she wouldn’t dare listen to. He swung wide, the haphazardness of the attack making it particularly easy for Darcy to block, but the sheer desperation which fueled its power propelled her back, crashing into the son of Hades, who caught her by the shoulders.

She’d only just muttered a thanks before he was rushing them again, all three demigods dropping to the ground as Dillon launched over them with an idiotic peal of laughter, managing to cut the back of Darcy’s neck. She winced, but stood anyway, pushing Nico to go with Will, to run, to get out of here. This wasn’t their fight and she wouldn’t forgive herself if they got hurt or… or…

Nico was shaking his head, “We’re here to help you.” He shot a hard look to the Apollo child, and they stared at one another, unspoken conversation lingering in front of them. He relented after a series of gestures and eyebrow raising, skin starting to glow a slight pink. Nico looked exhausted, a hand draped over his gut where small swirls of blackness dripped out whenever he turned.

Darcy sighed, putting herself between the boys and her brother.

_No_ , she chastised herself. _This is not my brother.._

For half a second she pondered on the idea that it’d never been her brother to begin with. Something cold shocked through her veins during that half second, but she recovered quickly enough.

“Just…” her voice was uncharacteristically broken. “Don’t… get hurt..” She mumbled ‘or I’ll kill you myself’ under her breath, pausing to glance at the dark haired boy, the one whose mouth was a tight straight line but whose fingers twitched with anxiety.

The trip here couldn’t have been easy on Nico. Dillon had droned on about his shadow traveling skills, trying to draw a rise out of her by mentioning that he’d picked up a “friend of hers” on the way over. Of course, at the time Darcy wrote the comment off as another lie. She didn’t actually have friends, right? Those hard-eyed Apollo nurses very definitely were not her friends, and Darcy wasn’t afraid to say that the feeling was mutual.

Their hands were always so warm, and their voices were always so soft, but it was in their eyes that Darcy could see it clearly. They tolerated her. She was no ‘precious patient’ to those campers, she was a liability on a short leash. Other patients were given outdoor time. They gave Darcy outdoor time once, after she had to beg for it. It was raining and she took the opportunity to bolt out of there, not that she got far obviously. Her health and the weather were never in her favor.

As she remembered, she saw Will’s face. It was him who dragged her sorry butt back into the cabin. He had gotten soaked through, his hair looked so different as the water dragged down his curls. Darcy herself was also wet and shivering, but she weakly fought anyway, throwing half-hearted punches to his chest and shoulders, demanding in a stuttery whisper for him to let her go. His answer had shocked her into stillness and he scooped her up (she was extremely underfed, she recalled, and weighed probably nothing) and carried her back to camp.

He hadn’t said ‘no, I won’t let you go,’ and he hadn’t said ‘if I do, you’ll surely die.’ Will had given her a stern look, but his mouth twitched and gave away his worry.

“ _Never_.”

_Never_. Darcy was stunned into silence, trying to decipher what this meant for her. He would never let her go? But he hadn’t said it in a wicked way, he said it like he was disappointed in her for even saying those words. Almost like he cared.

Of course when she was dumped back into the same bed and _never_ talked to by him after that, she wrote it off as another ruse she’d been dumb enough to believe.

In front of her, Dillon ran at Nico who was still bickering like an elderly woman with Will. The Madness had increased Dillon’s speed tenfold, so he was on him in a flash, but then again so was Darcy, sword lifted and blocking the blow with one hand, the other settling onto her brother’s chest. Charcoal grey smoke swirled around her hand and she pumped it forward, shocking and sending Dillon flying backwards and into the buffet.

_Pity_. She thought. She’d seen the boys eyeing the meal earlier, and was hoping to offer them a plate as they must have been starved.

Their appearance had been surprising, a little heart-warming, but not entirely unexpected. The Madness was a tricky thing, and it had the odd tendency to tinker with time. That was what made Darcy so quick, it was literally her surpassing the idea of being restricted by time. Her power came from something more animalistic, and she was a little ashamed to admit she’d been craving raw meat for awhile now.

But there was another ability, and it was what convinced her that someone she knew was in the palace. Darcy didn’t know how to describe it, but it was like her internal compass had been amplified and pooled something very cold deep in her chest. And somehow she knew it was Nico.

Perhaps it was because he was also a child of one of the darker gods that they shared an odd connection, but Darcy was glad of it nonetheless. Even with Madness on her side, she hadn’t been feeling very confident during this fight. Her opponent simply refused to bleed, so she wasn’t sure on how to exactly _win_.

Of course, Darcy was wary of this newfound skill she found. She had only _partially_ given in whereas the frothing and hissing coming from Dillon suggested he was a bit more along than she was. Using this Madness within her felt so _right_ though she knew it to be wrong, and she had a hard time holding back her giggle fits when her sword clashed with Dillon’s.

“Oh, just give in Darcy dear,” Dillon sang, brushing the assorted cheeses and berries from his suit. He stumbled to his feet, mouth in a grin that was too wide to be possible, and began striding toward her, his shoes tapping against the floor.

“And this would be much more fun.”

Darcy said nothing, holding her sword up and at the ready. Internally, she winced. Even with partial Madness, Darcy was getting tired and her wrist was starting to bruise.

The ground began quaking, not that anyone in the room looked even remotely concerned by it. What was the world coming to when earthquakes were treated like car alarms; everyone just goes still and waits for it to cease.

From underneath the beautiful marble tiles, skeletal fingers tore and clawed their way to the light, rising to their full height clad in ancient armor and wielding various ancient weapons. There were only three of them, all turning their eyeless skulls to the son of Hades who stood with his arms outstretched over where they’d risen, sweat already pasting his hair to his forehead. Will was standing by with a scowl on his face, clearly displeased.

After the dark haired demigod gave a small nod, the warriors spun their vacant bodies around and moved toward Dillon, who was watching with a tight frown.

“Honestly, where has all the honor gone?” He muttered, giving Darcy a cold glare. She glared back.

“Honor?” She scoffed, watching him dodge a hard blow of an axe, dancing between the undead warriors. “And whatever gave you the idea that this battle was _honorable?_ ”

Dillon’s laugh rang loud and clear as he smashed his blades into one of the skeletons, reducing it to a pile of bones and armor. Nico flinched behind her, Will keeping a steady hand on his shoulder.

His eyes twinkled silver. “Not that you’ve ever had honor in your life, eh Darce?” He knocked off another warrior’s head, though the body functioned well enough without it. He destroyed it just as quickly.

“I mean,” he continued. “You did kill me, didn’t you? Left me to bleed out in some wood, didn’t you?”

Darcy’s grip tightened on her sword until her knuckles were white and her fingers were numb. She was biting the inside of her cheek, holding back the frenzy of unpleasant slurs that threatened to break from her tongue. Nico was staring at her. He hadn’t known, why would he have known? Will was staring too, likely piecing it together; those late night breakdowns that resulted in headaches so strong they disoriented the patients and even causing a few to vomit and faint.

She wondered if it’d occurred to him that she’d been crying for a reason. Said reason sauntering closer, smashing another warrior to bits.

“You didn’t give me a _choice_.” Darcy said the words carefully, feeling her body grow hotter. Her skin cast a golden aura that quivered like fire around her, her hair fell from its pins where it hadn’t already and began growing in the places where it had been cut, extending outward like vines grasping for something to climb.

Dillon was smiling, his eyes were shining and for a second Darcy forgot. She forgot that this was actually happening. They weren’t climbing trees or star gazing anymore… Uncle wasn’t yelling at Darcy to ‘calm down! It’s just a trick!’-- no that was Nico and Will, though she hardly felt their hands on her arms, tugging and pulling and dragging and _burning_ but holding on anyway. So desperate in their attempt to… what? Save her?

Darcy had known for a long while now that she wasn’t one to be saved.

She shrugged them off gently, finding Nico’s eyes and frowning slightly at the bright reflection her own had in them. He had the most beautiful of brown paradoxes for eyes. So hard and yet so gentle.. She reached out with her fingers and brushed her own cheek, having a hard time remembering anything but golden eyes.

He was talking, his mouth was moving rapidly, but Darcy heard only the music playing louder and Dillon’s steps getting closer and the wind rustling through the trees and the smell of oncoming rain--

“You had a choice!” Dillon was shouting--singing--whispering as he ventured nearer and nearer, dragging his mutated arm along the floor and laughing as it crackled and sparked. Silver eyes and serpent tongues, _bloodied silver and withering gold--_

Dillon was close--too close now, hand grazing Darcy’s cheek. She knew her face was warm, her whole body was buzzing and itching and heating up and it was so numbing, she wondered if her face had gone slack because Dillon seemed to beam at it, as if he’d won.

“You could’ve made your choice easier and _died_ in those woods instead of me.” He chortled (chuckled?) and leaned in as close as Darcy would allow.

“You could’ve died like the good little sister I thought you were.”

What followed was difficult for Darcy to defend, but she stood by the claim that it wasn’t really her fault, not that she was exactly _herself_ in that moment, was she?

Smoke the color of rotting death itself pillowed around her feet, spiraling upwards and causing her dress’ vibrant gold color to wilt into a much more suitable grey tinge, leaving whatever gold that remained to freckle and span like stars. It crawled down her wielding hand, her sword quivering at its icy touch, and it fanned through her hair, turning it from sandy blonde to the color of a blizzard; just as cold, just as unforgiving.

When it fell, her hair skimmed the floor like a veil, and Darcy reached her hand around to bunch in up in a fist. Her sword cut through it like it was air, tendrils of white falling just past her chin.

She felt so much lighter, so much stronger, so much--

Darcy paused in her mindlessness to stare down at the branch of blades in front of her chest, the longest of which was piercing her like a skewer. It surely explained the _ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum_ in her ears, but does a broken heart still beat? Golden--no, _ashen_ eyes looked imploringly up the arm of the wielder, finding Dillon’s face; twisted, contorted in rage and seething and foamy.. Was she bleeding? She reached a hand to her chest and

yes, yes she was.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another cliffhanger =u=" sorry~ I have a bad habit of ending chapters that way. NEVER FEAR! I'll work on it<3 maybe. 
> 
> I hope school is going okay for anyone else whose started! Personally I've had enough interaction with the people around here~~ ; w ;


	23. An Imposter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohoho~ c:

The light that secured itself around his ankles and expanded in front of him in a circle was still pink in color, but Will found himself not particularly ashamed of that at the moment. Not while Darcy was unconscious just behind his feet and Nico was fending off Dillon with Darcy’s sword, trying to keep him away while Will kept her in the healing circle.

Darcy had sputtered a few unintelligible noises before she collapsed, Will managing to catch her just before her head smacked against the blood soaked marble. Her eyes were still open and for a moment the dark ash color swirled in them, before fading back into their usual hazel tint and closed as she passed out.

_We need to get out of here…_

Will turned his head to tell Nico this, only to find the son of Hades gripping Darcy’s golden sword with white knuckles, eyes locked on Dillon who stood giggling only a few feet away. A threatening grimace found itself on Nico’s face, the smoke that was once only sort of pooling at his feet now engulfing most of his lower half in blackened flames.

“Nico--” Will started, freezing when the younger boy looked him in the face. His eyes were swirling pools of hate and anger, the crashing coffee waves only calming at the sincere look Will hoped he was giving him. They couldn’t do this. This guy couldn’t even bleed, how do you defeat something that is already dead? Darcy had been _out of her mind_ when she fought against him, literally, two completely sane and entirely weaponless demigods were no match for whatever Dillon was.

Nico, seemingly reading his thoughts, brandished the sword a little less tightly, the inky flames dissolving under his feet once more.

He moved closer to Will, crouching down to where he was with Darcy’s white blonde head lolled in his lap. His voice was rough but soft.

“You focus on healing her, I’ll keep Giggles over there from getting to you two, and the first chance we get... we’re running.”

Will nodded, understanding the look of doubt that flashed momentarily in Nico’s hesitation. It was almost a plan, though an extremely risky one. Nico wasn’t near as fast as Dillon without the Madness, and with Darcy’s injuries, Will wasn’t sure how he felt about moving her so soon.

But it wasn’t as if they had a choice, was it?

A rush of adrenaline shot through him, and he reached out a hand, cupping it behind Nico’s neck and pulling him in for a quick (and albeit sloppy) kiss, teeth clashing and noses bumping before their lips even met. It was over in an instant, Will breathing out a hasty “Be careful,” before Nico stood again, stepping in front of them with the golden sword gleaming in his hand. (He’s cheeks were a little pink, but that didn’t stop him from looking absolutely threatening with his dark eyes trained on his opponent.)

He had managed to summon the light right away, and now he was trying to ignore the sword clashes and insults being spewed in front of him as he focused on the major stab wound in Darcy’s chest.

Will gingerly tore her dress to examine the wound closer, eyes squinting in focus. The blood was flowing slowly and steadily, staining the son of Apollo’s fingers as he determined how deep the sword had gone. Dillon had missed any major arteries, luckily.

Moving quickly, Will ripped off a sleeve of his shirt, balling it up tightly and pressing it hard to the wound. Darcy made a small squeaking noise in her unconsciousness, but otherwise didn’t move.

After a moment of concentration, Will felt his hands warm and glow, yellow this time, and he gently pumped his hands down into the wound, small sparks emitting from the action. The light seeped through his shirt sleeve, spilling onto the exposed skin of her stomach, swirling as it soothed her pained expression.

He was thrown back to a memory, one where he was in the rain, carrying the same girl (though she looked so much different now) back to the infirmary. She was soaked through and shivering, lips blue and cheeks hollow, and Will had wondered how he’d let this happen to her. He had felt something in him crack at her shocked reaction to his promise to never let her go. What had happened to her to the point where any sign of care from anyone came as such a surprise?

Darcy didn’t fight anymore after that, letting Will set her back in her infirmary bunk and give her some ambrosia to help her sleep. He left her in the capable hands of his siblings, trusting they would treat her with care and help her… he was obviously very wrong.

_I’ll have to talk to Hae-Won when we get back_ , he thought, slowly lifting his hands away, the tendrils of light dripping off his fingers and pooling on the shirt sleeve bandage. They kept the pressure on the wound as well as worked on healing her from the inside out. He stood, the light swirling around his ankles as he watched Nico just barely dodge a down swipe of Dillon’s monster hand.

_If we make it back…_

__

_Shut up!_

The voice was Nico’s, and it chastised him for doubting such a capable and stunning boyfriend. ...Okay maybe the stunning boyfriend part was Will’s thoughts, but that didn’t stop them from being true!

Nico was moving quickly, dodging and swiping when he had the chance to. He didn’t block, much to Will’s relief, as he was sure Dillon’s powerful weapon could crush the small Italian into tiny, unrecognizable pieces. And he wasn’t too sure how Reyna would feel about him returning her favorite Greek baby in zip lock baggies.

He really wanted to help. Will moved to step forward, but froze with his foot hovering over the pink border of the light ring. If he left the circle, it would stop healing Darcy. But if he didn’t do something, Nico would get creamed by Crazy Eyes. He cast a gaze down to the daughter of Lyssa. She was still passed out, the light brightly shining from her stab wound, her snowy hair glistening with sweat and partially stained with blood from a cut on her scalp. He looked to Nico, dripping with sweat and concentration, his eyes narrowed and focused but screaming with uncertainty, the sword in his hand seemingly straining his wrist. (He seemed to struggle with the weight of it, but it couldn’t have weighed any more than his Stygian iron blade. Wherever that was.)

Something blazing hot erupted in his stomach and he was panicking.

Dillon let out another soul wrenching peal of laughter, landing a hit with his human arm right to Nico’s gut, sending him sprawling backwards. The son of Hades gasped in pain, fire like smoke flaring up from his feet the color of the darkest pits of Tartarus. He managed to stay on his feet, though he spat on the ground, his blood as black as ink.

Will felt his stomach drop and had to put a hand over his mouth to keep from calling out, lest he wanted Dillon’s undivided attention. _That’s not good, that is most definitely_ not _good…_ His mind was racing with so many voices, Nico’s and Reyna’s and Darcy’s, all shouting and yelling, louder and faster, all mixed together...

The pink light coiled tighter around his ankles and melted into a loud, bright neon yellow as it slithered upwards. He was twitching, he wanted to move, to run and help to do something… The light quivered and suddenly flushed violet, taking the blue from Will’s eyes with it.

  
His hands were more or less moving on their own, like he’d moved them this way before. He stretched them apart, light pooling in either hand and expanding into a thin staff shape in his right and a curved shape in his left. It didn’t take long to understand what he was doing, the bow and arrow gaining physicality, still shimmering violet.

The son of Apollo readied his weapon, the arrow sprouting a head and fletchling as he struggled to aim. _It may have the look of a real weapon, but it’s still only made of light…_ He bit his lip, trying to familiarize himself with how light the bow was and how quickly he could turn it to shoot.

In front of him, Nico was approximately 98% shadow, the sword lagging in his fading form, threatening to fall through his hand completely. Dillon was advancing, but not attacking. Like he was playing with him, that too-big smile so unnatural looking on his face with each step.

“Ohh, Casper,” he snickered. “Fading fast, are we?” He struck, knocking the sword out of Nico’s barely-there grasp. Nico staggered backward, throwing apologetic glances to Will, hands reaching up in a desperate attempt to block the blow that was sure to follow--

Or, would have followed. The violet stream of light that jetted just past Ugly’s nose seemed to give him a bit of a shock, as he froze mid-downswing, eyes wandering over to Will’s unfortunately static destination.

Given both the fact that Darcy still needed to be healed and Will was brandishing a long range weapon, he really really _really_ hoped that he wouldn’t charge at him with that mutated sword for a hand. Another arrow flashed into existence right away, and he took aim again, though it was a little unnerving with Dillon’s silver lizard eyes boring him down.

Dillon had that look again, his eyes narrowed and mouth twitching at the corners. He turned away from Nico (to which Will _mentally collapsed with relief_ ) and took slow steps toward Will. His gaze shifted to his wounded sister and then back up again, causing Will’s stomach to flare with rage.

Dillon stopped walking.

“Did she tell you?” He asked, face expressionless and voice void of any emotion. “Why she did it? Why she killed me?” When neither Will or Nico moved to answer, he continued, “It’s because she was weak. She didn’t deserve the golden ring, she didn’t deserve its power and she _knew_.”

Something sad leaked into his face, not that Will even twitched, arrow still aimed at his head.

“She knew she wasn’t worthy of it… but she _so_ wanted to be…”

Darcy mumbled something incoherent at Will’s feet, a hand slowly dragging across the floor before pausing. She was waking up.

“Ever since we were kids,” Dillon was oblivious to Darcy’s condition or the fact that Nico was slowly moving toward Will at an angle, getting out of his line of fire, the smoking fire which engulfed him starting to simmer somewhat.

“Everything she had was given to her on a platter,” Dillon was rambling, his words somehow sounding both sincere and rehearsed as he continued, “Uncle _adored_ Darcy. She always acted so innocent, so shy, but when we were alone, she’d stare at the ring on her finger like it was everything she’d ever wanted.”

“Nnn...mm…” Darcy’s eyes were moving behind closed lids, the light which was burrowed into her wound pouring itself out, fading as it went. She was stirring, albeit slowly, stained fingers twitching as if she were reaching for her sword.

Dillon took a small step forward. “Like I didn’t exist-” another step, “Like I was worthless-” and another step, “Like she thought she was better..”

Will’s grip on the arrow grew tighter as Dillon inched forward. He wanted to glance to Nico, make sure he was okay, but he knew how fast this guy was and didn’t want to chance it. Something brushed the back of his ankle, but he kept his eyes locked on the threat in front of him. The white haired girl whimpered, hazel eyes finally open but so hauntingly empty. She probably looked like she’d been… well, stabbed in the chest by her crazy mutant sibling.

She moved to sit up, her breath hitching with pain.

“Don’t move,” Will said the words calmly, hoping to ease her fear. She didn’t listen, gasping and sitting up anyway, latching on to the back of his shirt as support while she fought to stand up.

  
Darcy whispered, voice brittle but clear, “That.. is not.. my brother... “

Will stilled, only glancing away from him for a fraction of a fraction of a second. He didn’t understand. Then who…?

A blinding flash of white knocked the blonde to the side, where he skidded against the floor, the violet weapon he had been holding having been vanquished to nothing. The ring of light wilted and disappeared, and Darcy fell to her knees with its absence.

Dillon stood over her, looking uncharacteristically distraught at her words. She raised her head and faced him, one hand pressed to her wound, the other a fist on the floor.

“At first,” the words were hard to make out, but she gritted her teeth and forced them into life anyway. “I just thought… you were being controlled… b-by someone…”

Nico knelt beside where Will had fallen, hoisting his arms up and letting him lean against his chest. His skin was so cold.

Darcy’s body shook and trembled when she huffed out a laugh suddenly, shaking her head lightly.

“You were moving… just like the phantom… that brought me here… when he inhabited a human body…” She lifted her hand from the floor, waving it dismissively in front of her. “But… y-your eyes… changed.”

She paused to breathe, Nico’s icy hand settling against Will’s forehead, probably getting sticky with a bit of blood. He wanted to move his hand away. _Don’t touch me… Not like this.._

“Are you.. okay?” Will muttered, tasting copper and absentmindedly wiping at his mouth. _What a hit…_ he thought, immediately followed by, _how am I alive?_

Nico shushed him, gently attempting to pull him to his feet. Will winced, making a small squeak of pain, and Nico stopped instantly. He heard him curse in Italian, the sound making his cheeks feel warm.

“Sorry…” he whispered quietly, head lolling. He was so dizzy all of a sudden, but the pain was throbbing and keeping him from passing out. “You’re probably gonna h-ha-have to carry me a-aga-ain…”

_You’re good at it_ , he added mentally. _Carrying me…_

Dillon crouched low in front of Darcy, eyes narrowing in confusion. She actually smiled at him, a genuinely pitiful smile, and raised a hand to touch his cheek.

“You…” There were tears behind her eyes, but none fell. She brushed her thumb under his silver eye though he wasn’t crying.  “...are not… my brother…”

“Wh.. what does… that mean…”

“I could… barely kill my brother once,” she smiled, but winced and it vanished. “What made you… think I could kill him… a-again?” She shook her head, Dillon (if Will could still call him that) looking terribly confused in front of her, eyebrows knitted in worry.

“When I first… connected with the… the Ma-Madness,” Darcy lifted a foot and pressed it to the ground, pushing hard so she could stand. “I felt only one... dark and brooding presence…” She sent sad eyes and a silly little grin over to Nico, who swallowed, nodding as he began to understand.

Darcy was on her feet fully now, though slightly hunched in pain. To Will she looked a bit blurry, but that might have been sweat in his eyes or a possible concussion, he wasn’t really sure. He had to admit, though, that she looked different with short white hair, even if it was a little matted in blood.  She looked… better. Medically speaking, that is.

She straightened her back as best she could, staring him in the face with defiant hazel eyes.

“And it… wasn’t… _you.”_

Darcy thrust her free hand forward, palm flattening out on his chest. Dillon seemed too stunned to move, his lips curving in a wicked smile though his eyes were lost and sad and very, now that Darcy mentioned it, _empty_. ( _I guess that explains the ‘no bleeding’ thing,_ he thought.) He started to chuckle. He started to laugh. He started to cry. Wisps of white coiled around Darcy’s bruised fingers, swelling and glowing and lashing out in all directions as it grew. It swept around her hair and kissed her broken skin and devoured the boy in front of her.

Will wasn’t sure how he could tell, but that light must have been cold.

One pump forward shot Dillon backwards in a dazzling flash of white. His arm began to shrink, his sword losing its multiple head and clattering to the floor where it melted into inky smoke. His torn suit dissolved into stardust, his bloodless skin melting into the air. He was still laughing when the rest of him disappeared, the sound bouncing off the walls. The only other noise was the sound of the record skipping, Darcy’s heavy breathing as she stumbled backwards, and Nico’s incessant _‘oh thank gods’_ on the back of Will’s neck.

The son of Apollo tried to turning around, opening his mouth to offer comforting words, since there was no one to kill him with his head turned now, apparently surprising the son of Hades as he clashed lips with him. It was sweet and soft but so short lived as Nico yanked himself away, mouth taut in a straight line, but his warm eyes filled with so much love. He swallowed, cheeks warming at such a gaze.

Nico assumed piggyback position, dangling Will’s arms around his neck when he clambered on, muttering Italian insults as he did so. Will caught the word _“Idiota”_ used several times.

If he had had the strength, the entire room would have glowed pink. Instead, he closed his eyes. _Gods_ he was tired...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> are you surprised? probably not. but that's okay. there's more. <3


	24. Aftermath pt. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is so late i almost forgot to update... it's been one of those weeks... 
> 
> so as of right now i'm declaring hiatus warning, meaning i've had a lot to get done since school started that making time to write is getting harder but i dont want to call it full on hiatus just yet bc who knows what next week has in store. stay updated on my tumblr page or leave a comment if you have questions and i'll try my best to answer them!

Nico wanted to _kill_ Will Solace. Or kiss him again. Or both.

_Stupid… stupid idiot…_ He tried to ignore the could-be-concussed blonde’s nuzzling on his head, making his way to where Darcy stood, trying to catch her breath. She jumped when he got close, but relaxed soon after recognizing him, putting a hand to her head.

_What she did…_ Nico wanted to reach out and give her a consoling touch on the shoulder, instead having to settle for a weak look of understanding when she met his gaze. _I could never do…_

Darcy tried to smile, but seemed to realize how impossible that was right now, looking down. The dress didn’t show signs of shimmering away, and she looked frustrated at that, clicking a gold heel against the floor in disgust.

She kicked the shoes off and held her hand in front of her face, examining her fingers.

“Surely,” her voice cracked and she cleared her throat, glancing to Nico nervously. “I broke a couple?”

The dark haired demigod giggled to himself. “What you didn’t feel that?”

Darcy shook her head, a small grin trying to form. “I was consumed with the Madness…” She rubbed her fingers, flinching. “I couldn’t feel anything.”

Nico nodded like he understood, flashing back to the dream where he killed a silver eyed Will Solace and didn’t feel a thing. Numbness in its ugliest, most uncaring form.

Said Will Solace snoring lightly on his back, somehow having fallen asleep immediately.

A little panic rose in him, and Nico shook the boy gently, prompting him to wake up and not fall into a coma. Will grumbled, cutely, but opened his eyes and squished his cheek to Nico’s face, very quietly announcing that he was awake.

_Must’ve taken a lot out of him…_ Nico knocked his head against the blonde’s sweetly. Well of course it did, didn’t it? He maintained a healing circle _and_ a light bow. That surely required quite a bit of focus for each, plus Darcy’s injured self drinking the energy up in order to heal probably left him with not a lot of strength to begin with…

Nico felt slightly ashamed. He’d been practically powerless, hadn’t he? He’d started fading the minute he woke up in this stupid hotel palace whatever. And when he tried to take up Darcy’s sword and fight… he wasn’t fast enough to do any real damage, and every hit caused those dark flames to flare up and threaten to take away his physicality. The sword fell right through his hand and if Will hadn’t been there…

The son of Apollo muttered then, some gibberish Nico somehow understood perfectly, though Darcy gave him a skeptical look.

“We should go, he says.”

The light haired girl nodded once, holding her hand out in the direction her sword lay. A flash around her finger later and there was a golden ring on her hand, the sword having vanished from the ground. Nico wasn’t surprised at this, Percy’s sword did something similar, right? Though a ring was a bit cooler than a ballpoint pen… though maybe less versatile.

She didn’t make a move to grab her discarded shoes, her bare feet slapping lightly against the marble as she walked. (It was more of a small limp, her arms crossed over her chest like she was hugging herself. Nico didn’t say anything.) She seemed to be muttering to herself, eyes darting around the empty air.

Nico swallowed. _The Madness must be some serious dark magic..._

They passed through the ghost door and started down the hall of mirrors, all three demigods staring darkly at the floor. None looked up, avoiding the mirrors in mute agreement.

Nico could only imagine what his face looked like. Dillon had gotten a few good swipes to his cheeks, and he’d felt a warm trickle drip from his mouth. Will’s left cheek was bruised, a few cuts to his forehead, but somehow still a beautiful human being. Darcy sported quite the shiner, though it hadn’t swollen closed thankfully, and she wore slashes all over her collar and upper arms, plus a nice slit down her lower lip which protruded like a pout and was an angry red.

The daughter of Lyssa hesitantly reached a hand to touch her hair, eyes widening.

“It’s so…” she dropped her arm to her side. “Light.”

Nico laughed a little, remembering his own hair had been put up by Piper before they left.

“I think it suits you better.” He admitted.

She gave him a glance. “But _white_?”

The Italian shrugged. “You could always dye it?”

Darcy pondered this seriously for a moment, then shook her head. She didn’t elaborate and the conversation flopped into sideways comments about being tired or hungry. Several times Nico caught her whispering to the side, as if speaking in hushed tones, though there was no one there. He wrote it off as side effects of using such dark powers for such a long time.

Nico had to admit he was a little surprised. Darcy seemed like such a fragile person when he first met her, someone with a power she could barely contain and a past hidden behind a black veil. But Mad-Darcy had been outrageously powerful, if not completely out of her mind.

Looking over her now, Nico noticed her eyelids drooping lower with each limp forward. Dark rings had already formed under them, and the whites of her eyes were shot with red. She appeared truly weak. Nico was positive in the thought that she wouldn’t be able to use that power again, or at least never at that level. It was a hefty price to pay for what she… had to do.

After what felt like days of walking, Will had pushed himself off of Nico’s back and leaned on him while they walked. Will’s head lolled lazily on Nico’s shoulder, not that he minded, and the boy asked several times if Nico would kiss him again, which he minded very much and refused each request with a stutter and a blush.

That had been an accident! He didn’t mean to lean in that close, and how was he supposed to know idiota Will was going to turn around at that exact moment?! Not that he didn’t like it but…

Nico flushed, glaring at the wall opposite of where Will was. What am I thinking? That’s so embarrassing! … _Oh gods, what if I said that out_ loud _? Will would never let me live that down!_

He was fighting his beating heart when Will suddenly looked up, finding Nico with wide ocean eyes.

“Oh my gods, whatever happened to Lou Ellen?”

Nico blanched.

 _Oh gods! What_ did _happen to Lou Ellen??!_ Nico set aside his relationship issues for now (or forever) and bit his lip in thought.

“I’m sure she’s alright?”

This was Lou Ellen they were talking about. Scary warrior magic goddess Lou Ellen The Great and Powerful. There was no doubt in Nico’s mind that she was okay. Probably. Definitely.

“She’s in another room somewhere,” Darcy supplied quietly, avoiding looking Will in the eyes when he asked, rather loudly, how she knew who Lou Ellen was. She looked to Nico but spoke to Will, red-faced.

“You brought her into the infirmary once… she’d turned someone into a frog…” A small smile appeared on her lips and vanished just as quickly. “She’s very pretty…”

“And how do you know she’s in this place?” Will asked, seemingly gentler. Darcy managed to find his face for two whole seconds. “You only find what you’re looking for here… and I felt her presence when…” She waved her hand dismissively, looking down again.

“But, I thought you could only sense me?” Nico said, finding Darcy’s abilities to be pretty interesting. (No he wasn’t jealous, what? Pshaw.) Darcy shook her head, biting the fingernail of her thumb as she collected her thoughts.

“I think,” She started, softly. “I felt five presences, but you were the only dark one. And… I think the dark ones stand out more…” She didn’t sound so sure of her own words, but Nico and Will were both nodding thoughtfully. Darcy looked like she wanted to say more, but her expression fell and she drew silent.

Will was staring off into space, mumbling under his breath, before he snapped his head around to the two of them. (Nico scolded him in Italian, taking pride in the muttered apology and the flash of pink light that came from his freckled cheeks. It soothed his raging pulse somehow.)

He, looking much calmer, said, “If Nico and I are both on your radar, and so is Lou Ellen… who’s the fifth?”

Darcy shook her head roughly, gaze falling once again to the floor. She hugged her arms over her chest and fell silent. The uneven sound of their footsteps filled the emptiness that hung over them; Will’s carefully guided ones, Nico’s struggling heavy ones, and Darcy’s impossibly soft limping. A symphony of pitiful demigods, their victory never having even once tasted sweet.

Could they even call it a victory? Nico’s body ached with the memory. They had lost more than they gained it seemed. More blood, more tears…

Nico’s mind drifted back to Lou Ellen, a sharp stab of guilt cutting deep flaring up in his gut. He had no idea… How could he have known? His worries at the time were consumed with getting Will out of this place alive, then saving Darcy and getting _all of them_ out alive. Lou Ellen hadn’t crossed his mind even once… He felt horrible.

Will nudged his shoulder gently.

“She’s okay,” He smiled the only genuine smile a son of Apollo could offer, though misinterpreting the cause of Nico’s worry. He reached down and intertwined his fingers with the dark haired demigod, his hand a little colder than usual. “We’ll find her.”

They’d passed the hallways of mirrors long ago, treading now surrounded by picture frames. Many were empty when they first ran down this hall, but now more seemed to carry images of people Nico had never seen. Some were upside down or sideways or just slightly crooked _just enough_ to make his fingers twitch as they passed.

Darcy was looking at the pictures thoughtfully but not stopping to stare at any particular one. She paused at a small painting of a forest, but shook her head and mumbled something under her breath before continuing on.

“Darcy,” Nico reached out a hand and barely brushed her arm, and she jerked away like he’d slapped her. Her face poofed pink and she quietly apologized, relaxing her shoulders again. Nico felt a strong sense of deja vu, but pressed on.

“There was a portrait earlier, when Will and I were coming for you.”

She tilted her head a bit to the side.

“I was wondering… if you knew the woman in the portrait?” At her blank expression, he hurriedly tried to explain.

“She had long dark hair, dark grey eyes, and was wearing a long purple dress. I saw her for a second before she disappeared from the painting.”

Darcy’s eyes widened at the last bit, lifting her head to look around the walls. No sooner had she started looking did it come into view, the oval frame as large as it had been before.

The woman in violet wasn’t there still, much to Nico’s disappointment, but the two children were still staring at the demigods with opposite expressions. The daughter of Lyssa tentatively reached out a hand, broken fingers skimming the painted face of the hazel-eyed child. She swallowed, dragging her fingertips across the canvas and onto the green-eyed child’s body. There was something so intimate about the gesture, Nico felt bad for watching and cast his gaze downward.

“I…”

Nico looked up at Darcy’s voice.

“I… don’t know who that woman is…” She slowly dropped her hand back to her side. “But… I think this is me… a-and my brother.” Her voice crumbled and she had to clamp her palm over her mouth to prevent from crying out, eyes and cheeks wet and shiny.   

They walked on, Will moving over to console Darcy quietly as she dried her eyes, expression blank. She silently led them, turning down different corridors and opening doorways to reveal sets of stairs. The steps were leading downwards, but it somehow felt like they were traveling upwards, but at this point Nico didn’t bother questioning the reasoning behind this place. They saw a few more pictures as they went, some of families none of them knew and some of Darcy and Dillon as children. She’d linger by these photographs, tracing a finger along the frame delicately, before dropping her hand and moving on. Time passed and they turned corners, opened doors, descended and ascended stairs.

After turning a knob and entering, Darcy finally spoke again.

“She’s my mother… but she’s also a Goddess.” She shook her head. “I wouldn’t have thought she had pictures of us.”

Nico looked up. “You mean Lyssa?”

Darcy nodded, biting her lip.

“Uncle told us that once we were born, she left for good.”

“Uncle?” Will’s head tilted rather cutely to one side. Again, Darcy nodded.

“We lived with our father’s brother. Our father died before we were born.” Her eyes were glassy. “Uncle said he suddenly went mad one day and walked into the middle of the lake and just never came back up.”

Nico visibly shivered, Will taking his hand and squeezing it hard, also apparently put off by that information. Darcy hummed at them, an amused expression on her face.

“But I don’t think he’s dead.” Then, she added seriously, “Or if he is, I don’t think that’s how it happened.”

Neither boy said a word.

Several more _thousand_ or so footsteps later, Darcy brought the group to a stop, facing the wall. She placed a hand on the robin’s egg wallpaper and simply pushed her arm through up to her elbow, turning her head and reaching for Will’s hand. He cautiously took it, gripping Nico’s even harder. An aura the color of flint coiled off their skin, and Darcy led the demigod train through the wall slowly.

And Nico thought shadow traveling was weird. Ghosting through solid objects felt like trying to swim in a pool full of syrup. The entrance to the ballroom had been easy, it was never there to begin with. But an actual solid wall? It was like drowning in wet clay.

He held his breath for what felt like three minutes before bursting out the other side, leaning heavily on his boyfriend who appeared to be unaffected.

Darcy gingerly tried patting Nico’s back as he coughed air back into his lungs, but stopped quickly and withdrew her hand with an embarrassed look.

“I had the same reaction when I was shadow traveled here. I don’t think our abilities mix very well.”

Nico nodded in agreement, swallowing in breaths until he was breathing normally again. That was a nightmare. And Nico _knew_ nightmares.

“Wait, Nico, do you hear that?” Will was twisting his head around, staring at a spot on the wall. He put his ear to it, and knocked his fist against it. The sound was hollow.

Darcy gently pushed him aside, placing a hand on the wall. The wallpaper rotted and coiled to the ground at her touch, revealing a door less impressive than any they’d seen so far. Behind it they heard voices.

_Lou Ellen!_ Nico thrust forward and grabbed the doorknob, turning it and charging into the room.

“Lou Ell-”

Lou Ellen was sitting cross legged on the floor, poking at the wall in front of her with her sword. She’d sliced through the wallpaper well enough, but couldn’t seem to dent the walls of her five-star prison cell. Which was thoroughly destroyed; the bed tipped over and pillows spilled on the floor, the wardrobe hacked to splinters, the fancy dresses that were inside torn and ripped in some sort of frenzy. The only thing still intact in the room was Lou Ellen, a single lamp, and Will and Nico’s respective weapons, stashed in a corner.

At the noise of their entrance, she leapt into a fighting stance, only dropping her sword when she realized who they were. She tackled Nico and Will in a tight embrace, ignoring their groans of pain and hugging even tighter.

“You… you…” She squeezed them tight, pulling back. She lifted a hand and punched each of them in the head. “You _IDIOTS!_ ” They took the beating with smiles on their faces.

Darcy stood awkwardly to one side of the room while the daughter of Hecate ruthlessly punched and smacked the other demigods, demanding them to tell her absolutely everything that had happened since they split. Will threw his arms around her neck and squeezed tightly, Nico having to make do with hugging her middle from the side. She laughed at them hopelessly, lightly petting them both on the head before shoving them off her. Lou Ellen straightened out invisible wrinkles on her shirt, cheeks a slight pink color, before her eyes fell on Darcy. She paused.

“Darcy?”

Darcy nodded, looking exhausted and in the need for a bath. And a buffet. Or maybe that was just Nico.

He and Will quickly retrieved their weapons, and Nico suddenly felt much safer with the Stygian iron blade heavy in his hand. Darcy’s sword was slightly longer than his it seemed, but somehow felt entirely too heavy for its size. He wondered if only Darcy could wield it effectively, hoping to gods that he didn’t just have weak wrists.

Lou Ellen clapped once, smiling brightly.

“Oh! Good! We came to get you!”

When Darcy didn’t say anything, Lou Ellen shrugged.

“And by get you, I mean find you and talk to you. We don’t want to force you to come back to camp if that’s not what you want to do…” She rubbed the back of her neck, suddenly more awkward.

“So?” Lou Ellen’s eyes were softer than Nico had ever seen them, and she was looking right at Darcy. “What do you want to do?”

And then everyone was watching Darcy. She was toying with her fingers, a nervous habit, and glancing between the three demigods in front of her, eyes glassy. Her mouth opened and closed as she was flustered, sounds coming out but no words forming. Nico wanted to comfort her somehow, and had moved to do so when she finally said:

 **  
**“I… I want to go _home_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what am i doing i feel like this stopped being good once darcy happened but also im so close to an end i can't just not finish it ugggghhhhh


	25. Aftermath pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if anything naming these chapters is gonna be easy

Darcy had seen Lou Ellen once before in the infirmary back at camp, but she’d never formally _met_ the demigod. She was very pretty, Darcy thought, wondering why then was she so obnoxiously _loud_.

Lou Ellen had immediately launched into her epic tale of adventure and woe when they started down the hallway, Darcy a few steps behind the trio. She was waving her arms dramatically, providing her own sound effects, and highly exaggerating. _Twenty skeletal warriors? Flamethrowers? Magical girl catchphrases?_ Darcy rolled her eyes. She didn’t think so.

“After that phantom thing dropped me in that room, I sat there and tried to Mist bend something that could help me, but I couldn’t.” Lou Ellen seemed frustrated by this, a fist punching into her open palm. “And I tried breaking down the wall somehow, but I couldn’t even cut through it! _Me_!”

  
Will was nodding, a look of ‘well, if Lou Ellen couldn’t do it, no one can,’ on his face. Nico bore the same look, only his seemed more genuine. And maybe a little frightful.

“Aaanyway,” Lou Ellen clasped her hands together, looking to Will with wide, round eyes. “What did you guys do?”

Will was reluctant to speak at first, turning around to find Darcy’s face. He seemed to be asking for her permission, and she shrugged at him. She didn’t care. Why should she?

Something cold slammed into her head, throbbing and prickling. She winced, and she must’ve made a noise, as the dark haired son of Hades gave her a worried glance, but she waved it away with a shake of her head. She was fine. Truly.

“ _Oh but that’s not true._ ” Dillon’s voice had a slight edge to it, but he didn’t sound as cold as his imposter had been.

Darcy ignored him, focusing on her bare feet as she walked. They were filthy by now, plus there were still blisters from those horrendous shoes she’d been wearing. Looking down at the rest of herself, she found that she was still wearing the torn grey and glittery dress she’d somehow magically transformed into. It was still torn where her injury was, but luckily Will dressed it with gauze and bandages when he woke up on Nico’s back.

She brushed her fingertips over the wound gently, biting back a hiss of pain when she pressed just a might too hard.

The son of Apollo himself turned a head to Darcy, stopping in the middle of his story to Lou Ellen to tell Darcy not to touch it, unless she wanted it to start bleeding again. She glared at him, though it was empty of any real anger, and he stuck his tongue out at her before returning to his tale.

_It’ll heal…_ She rubbed her side, wary of touching it again.

“ _Not all wounds heal._ ” Dillon was behind her, out of sight but somehow filling every corner of Darcy’s mind. He was speaking softly but screaming at the same time. She shoved him out, throwing up her walls and barricading all entrances.

_I’m_ done _with you…_ Darcy angrily watched her feet again, her pitiful limping, her pathetic sniveling. _You’re gone. You aren’t real--_

“ _But I am real. I’m right here. And you know that. I’m right behind you, Darce._ ”

She didn’t look.

_Just leave me alone… Go away…_

Lou Ellen suddenly squealed, delighted. “Nico did _what?!_ ” She was elbowing the younger demigod in the side, laughing. Will’s face was red and he looked ashamed to have said anything. Nico’s face was red and he looked either like he wanted to die or wanted to kill Will, Darcy wasn’t sure.

“I-I-- he was out cold!” He was half-heartedly trying to push Lou Ellen away from him, blushing heavily. She didn’t budge, inching her face closer to his. “Ohohoh? You didn’t take _advantage_ of him, I hope?” A shade of pink Darcy had never seen before erupted from both boys’ faces, something like fireflies materializing around Will. He swatted at them embarrassedly.

“ _You’ve made some nice friends, Darcy._ ”

Darcy cursed him under her breath. Lou Ellen caught that, looking to her with a wide smile.

“Sorry, didja say something?”

Darcy shook her head quickly, gaining suspicious squints from Will. Darcy opened her mouth to change the subject, ask Lou Ellen to tell her story again or something, when Nico spoke up.

“Darcy, are you okay?”

 _No._ “Yes.”

Lou Ellen stopped walking, looking Darcy in the eye though the white haired demigod’s eyes were on her feet again.

“You’re lying,” Lou Ellen said boldly. Darcy didn’t look up.

“N-no I’m not.”

The daughter of Hecate huffed. “I’ve known Will practically my whole life, trust me when I say I can spot a liar miles away.”

Will muttered something, not entirely disagreeing with her but also trying not to admit it.

Darcy was shaking her head. “I’m fine.”

“ _You’re not._ ”

“You’re obviously not fine,” Lou Ellen blew out an exasperated sigh, eyes softening. Darcy slowly lifted her head to look at her. Lou Ellen was hard to look at; her eyes all droopy and puppy-like, her mouth crooked in a sympathetic grin, her cheeks dusted with a slight blush, like she was never this nice to anyone and was a little embarrassed by it.

She put a hand on Darcy’s shoulder.

“You don’t have to tell me,” She nodded, nodding to the boys as well, meaning to say that no one was allowed to ask anymore. “But,” Lou Ellen smiled and it was bright. “You will be alright. We all will.”

“ _Just tell them,_ ” Dillon was whispering. “ _Tell them everything._ ” He sounded exhausted, his voice echoey and quiet. She knew the imposter was long gone, and that this was most likely just an after effect of being Mad for so long… and yet…

_Not right now_ , she tore her eyes away from Lou Ellen when the group started moving again, Will picking up where he left off in that story of his. Nico’s ears were red, his eyes narrowed into a glare and his cheeks puffed out. Will laughed, loud and ringing, and poked at his cheeks until he turned and yelled at him, leaking into his mother tongue without knowing, causing Will’s own face to flush.

_But maybe eventually._

\---

The longer they walked, the more restless Dillon seemed to get. He’s been in Darcy’s head for hours, rambling on about things that didn’t make sense in a conversation.

“ _Remember when you said we become stars? I really like the one with brown eyes._ ”

“ _So you’re looking for the exit? Curly-hair has a funny laugh. Why are you leaving again?_ ”

“ _Darcy, Darcy-- Oh, no nevermind._ ”

“ _I’ve never met mom, isn’t that weird? It’s so lonely here…_ ”

“ _Hey, why did that phantom look like me?_ ”

Darcy stilled at the last question, leaving the rest of the demigod squad to roll out without her.

_Phantom…?_

“ _The one who tried to kill you earlier. Why did it look like me?_ ”

Darcy’s mouth opened and closed as she chewed the thought over, stunned as to why she hadn’t thought of it before.

_It wasn’t really you_ , she twirled a short piece of white hair as she pieced it together. _I at first thought it was and that you were being manipulated…_

Dillon sounded appalled at the idea. “ _Like I even talk like that! I heard what he said, ‘Oh I’m soooooo flexible’ Puh-lease, Darcy!_ ” His voice grew softer. “ _I know I’ve done some terrible things, and I know I deserve to be here, like this, but I was… s-s-so confu-fused…_ ”

A stinging pain fanned out behind Darcy’s eyelids and she winced, putting a hand to her head though she knew it to be useless. _Stop… You aren’t real either…_

“ _YES I AM_.” A light fixture above Darcy’s head sparked and exploded, raining firefly light over her head. She jumped at the noise of shattering glass, stepping to the side to hug the wall as the glass sprinkled down like glittering snow-like daggers.

The sound turned the others’ head around right away, each taking a defensive stance out of habit more than anything. Darcy didn’t move.

“ _I’m as real as you are! As_ they _are. Why can’t you figure it out, Darce? I’ve been here the entire time._ ”

  
Darcy was shaking her head, silent but adamant about avoiding Nico’s gaze when he stepped toward her, presumably asking her what was wrong, but she could only hear Dillon’s voice.

“ _You shadow traveled here with a phantom and he led you into a waiting room. There isn’t even a waiting room in this place, Darcy. He wasn’t real._ ”

Nico was touching Darcy’s shoulder gently, prodding her, trying to get her to speak or move or something, she didn’t rightly know. She opened her mouth _to_ speak, but no sound came out. Her throat suddenly felt dry, and she tried to cough but ended up choking.

“ _You were offered a plate of your favorite cookies, the kind we’d always eat during Christmas. Remember? You used to steal mine from out of my stocking. Those weren’t real either._ ”

Lou Ellen’s face appeared, her lips moving and forming words that matched the concern in her eyes. She was nodding, sucking in air through her mouth and blowing out through her nose, gesturing at Darcy to mimic her. Darcy breathed, struggling to keep her breath from hitching as she sucked in.

“ _And why was the door wide open? Because I opened it Darcy. I tried to lead you_ out _but the Madness had already caught you by then…_ ” Darcy felt an icy palm on her cheek, but no one was touching her. “ _I’m sorry I couldn’t help you when you really needed it… I’m sorry all of this happened because of me..._ “

In front of her eyes a wisp of candle smoke spiraled into a basic face shape, and the ghost smiled, eyes somehow glimmering. Dillon seemed to take more form then, the others having noticed and taking small steps away, eyes flicking from Darcy to the appearing ghost in front of her.

He was wearing the same tattered grey jacket Darcy had worn when she first arrived and a plain black t-shirt. His lower half was fuzzier than the rest of him, but she knew he was wearing sliced up jeans and ratty old tennis shoes held together by duct tape and pure willpower.

 

He grinned and Darcy was ten years old again, running to her brother when another little girl stuck gum in her hair at school. They’d spent two hours and three jars of peanut butter trying to get it all out when Uncle came at her with scissors and lopped off her hair, creating a sideways bob that left Darcy sobbing in the bathroom, Dillon knocking on the door and promising that she’d never have to cut her hair again if she just let him fix it this _once_.

Then she was fourteen and held her new golden sword tightly in her hands, Uncle instructing Dillon to begin the match. Dillon’s eyes were different than they used to be. Harder, maybe, or dreadfully focused. He came at her with a loud yell, and she blocked his attack easily, knocking his own silver blade from his grip. Uncle clapped, Dillon scowled, and Darcy dragged her sword across the dirt when she walked away.

Then she was sixteen and Uncle was dead. A heart attack in the night, nothing they could have done, peaceful, as if falling asleep-- Darcy doubted it. Peaceful? These walls never knew peace… She was standing in the doorway, cheek burning with the imprint of Dillon’s hand.

“ _You heard… didn’t you…_ ”

“ _You can’t leave me here… not now… you promised…_ ” She wasn’t looking him in the eyes. He was different. He changed. She was scared to look him in the eye anymore.

Leaves crunched under her feet, the sound of clashing metal thundered in her ears, she begged but her body was not her own-- it was trained to do this, _it had to do this_ , if only to protect her from him. He lay heavily in her lap when she cried, stroking his hair and his face, wishing it’d been her… Wishing so badly she were lying in the wood instead of him. She screamed. Felt like for hours she just screamed.   
She didn’t remember standing, or leaving him behind, or walking out of the woods through to the other side. She did remember hitch hiking, sticking out a thumb in exchange for a quick ride with some questionable sorts. No one touched her, no one asked where she was headed, as she didn’t rightly know herself.

Darcy remembers sitting in truck beds on winding roads, numb and starving. Her escorts all had blurred faces, and she couldn’t recall a single one of their names, or even if they gave them. _Must’ve been ghosts…_

__**  
  
**

Then there had been more trees, more leaves. She could hear noises, voices-- some shouting, some soft and pleading. She suddenly felt hands on her and she exploded into life, swinging and twisting away, yelling-- not in English, and not nice things. Darcy imagined what she must’ve looked like: filthy and hungry, hair a long and tangled mess, clothes still bloodstained… It wasn’t until they dragged her to their camp did she notice the tattered grey jacket she was clutching to her chest.

“ _Darcy._ ”

Snapped back into the present, Darcy found herself crying for the millionth time that day, and angrily wiped her wrists over her eyes. Nico, Will, and Lou Ellen had all given the siblings some space, though they were obviously curious, watching them with wide eyes.

“ _I’m gonna go now…_ ”

Darcy didn’t beg him to stay. She didn’t well up with new tears and weep. She knew that she’d only ever feel pain if he stayed, and he seemed to realize this himself. So Darcy nodded slowly, wrenching her eyes from the floor to find his face.

Dillon flickered, smiling like he used to. It didn’t quite reach his eyes, but Darcy wasn’t sure anything could anymore. There was the sound of a candle being blown out, and he was just gone.

He took with him the pressure from behind her eyes, and her head felt less crowded in his absence. Her chest began to glow weakly and she felt something surge through her, something comforting yet dangerous, and suddenly Darcy felt fine. Physically, she was no longer covered in bruises and aching, even her fingers righted themselves.

She sent a final thank you to Dillon, somehow feeling like he’d heard her, and turned to the others, who blinked but did little else. Darcy cleared her throat, stepping around the broken glass and starting once again down the hallway. The others followed silently, quite understandably confused, not that Darcy was gonna really offer an explanation beyond “I’m alright now.”

“I don’t hate my brother,” The daughter of Lyssa said as the hallway opened into a large foyer, the dramatically huge front door just steps away from them now. Lou Ellen clapped her hands, rushing to tug onto the intricately designed handle. Nico and Will lagged behind, each watching Darcy carefully, like she were made of porcelain. She rolled her eyes at the thought.

“I never did, actually. Anyway,” She joined Lou Ellen in pulling open the doors-- which were unimaginably heavy, mind you. “Sorry to be so…” She waved her hand  in the air like that explained it all, and Lou Ellen shrugged her shoulders.

“We’re all a little--” She mimicked the gesture Darcy had done. “--sometimes. You’ve got nothing to apologize for.”

“Still,” Will leaned against the door, not being helpful in the slightest. “It _is_ your fault we’re here in the first place.” He tilted his head at her, grinning, a sign that all has been forgiven. Nico elbowed him in the ribs, muttering something Darcy couldn’t hear that sent Will’s cheeks aflame. She smiled at them, all of them.

The door opened with another straining tug, sunlight spilling into the palace bright enough to sting the eyes of the demigods, Darcy and Nico flinching at it with a groan while Lou Ellen and Will smiled wide, embracing the sun with their bright faces.

This wasn’t technically freedom, Darcy figured. They’d all been free, from the very start, to leave if they wished to. (Well, maybe except Lou Ellen…) But it represented a freedom unique to each of them, and it was warm all the same.

“Oh thank _goodness_ , it’s about bloody _time._ ”

Darcy had to squint through the overpowering light to find the owner of the voice, and once she was used to the brightness, the daughter of Lyssa made out a thin figure with short cropped red hair and hiking boots spattered in mud. A familiar pair of emerald eyes shone when they spotted her.

Erecura clapped her hands together once, rosy lips curving into the strangest grin. She appeared so relieved, yet also surprised. The Goddess quickly stepped forward and tried to hug all four of them at once, resulting in an awkward squeeze of shoulders.

“Erecura…?” Nico’s hands were in his pockets and he bore a terribly confused expression, then suddenly his eyes were wide. Erecura waved a hand in his direction, eyes stuck on Darcy.

“Lass…? You are…” She circled her slowly, inspecting. “..unharmed?” Darcy more or less shrugged at the question, and a pair of freckled arms were thrown around her neck.

“Oh that’s wonderful! I felt awful, truly, when your friends here told me how much they wanted to help ya, and there I was and I just sent ya to your literal crazy mother, didn’t I?” Her laugh was tinkling and a little hysterical, but Darcy simply pushed her arms off of her and took a small step back, offering a small smile.

Nico and Will and Lou Ellen appeared at her sides, grins also spread on their faces. She beamed at them, warmth swelling in her chest. They really cared… They really did…

“Now then,” Erecura clapped again. “Let’s get you home, shall we?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tadaaah are you relieved? suspicious? confused? if not now, then eventually. if i ever get around to writing that part. ahaa.. ; n ;


	26. The Calm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's the silence that warns you  
> every living thing stills for only a second before bursting into activity  
> hiding  
> running  
> the quiet of the calm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry its so late again! i fell asleep when i got home and only got up two hours ago, so i ate dinner and watched anime before thinking 'maybe i should update the fic i said i would update? yea' 
> 
> sorry!

Will and Nico walked slightly behind the girls, Erecura chatting noisily with Darcy and prodding her for all sorts of answers. The girl took them in stride, as awkward as it was.

“Did ya find your mother?”

“No…”

“Was there a battle, your friends look worn and unsteady on their feet as it is, should we take a rest?”

“U-um--”

“No, no I should take you all back to your camp. I feel so responsible, I don’t even know what happened but I’m dreadfully sorry, lass, I am.” Erecura was nodding solemnly, her eyes glittering.

“Camp?” Will turned his head away from Nico, cutting off their conversation about what they were gonna eat first when they got back. (French fries for the son of Hades, and Will really was craving a milkshake…) The Goddess tossed a look his way, venom eyes glowing. “Aye, I’ve got pearls that I snatched from--” She seemed to take stock of her company and shook her head, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture.

“Ah, nevermind. I can get us there right quick, no problem.” She pulled out five iridescent marbles, from-- well Will wasn’t sure where from, she had so many pockets in her shorts alone. They shimmered in her palm, and Will recognized them immediately.

“Poseidon’s pearls?”

Erecura softly cursed. “Well it’s not like that oaf _needs them_ is it? Plus I stole these indirectly from him, so no harm done!”

“Indirectly?” Nico asked. Erecura’s back straightened.

“I stole them from a sea nymph who stole them from a dryad in Odessa. That little beastie got ‘em from a demigod lass from Nantucket, and _she_ procured them from her mortal girlfriend as a gift and _she_ stole them from that great big galoot, Poseidon.” Erecura shook her head, sighing. “Haven’t an idea how the mortal girl managed to swipe ‘em. Maybe one of his nymph children tried to swoon the lass and got swindled? Serves them right then, I say.” The Goddess pocketed the pearls again, glancing around at the woodland which surrounded them.

“We have to get out of this little bubble ‘verse Lyssa had installed first.” She stretched her freckled arms out behind her back. “Talk about cautious, eh?”

Lou Ellen’s eyes were bright, and Will took it to mean she liked Erecura already. The demigod launched into a conversation with the Goddess-- something about Mist quality over quantity-- but a tug on his elbow brought his eyes to Nico’s, trouble obviously brewing in that coffee colored mix. He pulled him over gently, slowing down their pace quite a bit, the rest of the group several feet ahead.

“Nico?” Will felt the familiar clenching in his chest as his worry began to build.

“Will, something’s not right about this.” The suspicious tone in his voice was hard _not_ to hear. Will bit his lip, confused.

“Um.. okay, what is it?”

“I don’t know.” Nico whispered, seriously.

Will paused.

“Nico--”

“I _know_ something is wrong, okay! I just don’t know _what_ it is!” He jammed his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out something blacker than black and insanely smooth. It resembled the pearls, yet smaller and, naturally, darker. “But this. Erecura gave me this and told me to contact her if we needed help.”

The blonde nodded once, then shrugged his shoulders. “...Yes? I mean, I’m glad we didn’t need it, but Nico I don’t understand--”

“How did she know where to find us?”

For a moment, Will didn’t have an answer. They themselves weren’t even sure of their location, and yet… He shoved those ideas away, refusing to believe them.

Will swept up his boyfriend’s hand, since it’s been awhile, and leaned into him. “She’s a Goddess, _amaimono._ ” He nosed behind his ear, chuckling when the boy jumped and swatted at him. “I’m sure she’s got her own tricks.”

“ _Amaimono?_ Since when have you known Japanese?” Nico’s beet red cheeks most likely indicated he’d forgotten what they’d been talking about. Will laughed, poking him in the side lightly.

“Have you ever met Tadashi from the Athena cabin? I think he’s got a crush on Hae-Won, but she doesn’t give him the time of day.” He smirked and relayed the memory of a flush-faced Tadashi very loudly confessing to Will’s sister, who stood stone still until he was finished and then walked away, her glasses glinting and hiding her expression. He caught her in the cabin, blushing horrifically and glaring at the wall.

“I asked her if she was interested and she punched me.”

Nico was staring at Will with hooded eyes, mouth twitching. “Will, are you blind?” Wait.

“What?”

“Are you dumb?”

“Nico, _what!_ ”

“That was us, you idiot!”

“ _...What?!_ ”

Nico was laughing, a beautiful sound, snorts and all, and wiped tears from his eyes. He nudged Will’s shoulder with his own, eventually able to calm himself enough to speak again, though he threatened to burst into giggles as he forced the words out.

“She.. totally likes Ta-Tadashi, Will.. She’s _me_ , Tadashi’s _you_.” He breathed, laughing softly again, head resting on Will, and Will totally not minding.

“Tch,” Will rolled his eyes a bit, a playful grin emerging from his face. “I did not just _blurt it out._ ”

“Will. Please. You literally blurted out that I was cute--”

“--you are!--”

“--and then you ran away.”

“ _It was embarrassing!!_ ”

Nico shoved into him gently. “For me, maybe.”

Both boys laughed, the genuine article of contentment, then sighed in unison and leaned into each other. Will had missed this. It’d hadn’t been that long-- unless it totally had been, Erecura’s explanation on ‘bubble universes’ hadn’t been too terribly clear when it came to time-- but Will had really missed holding Nico’s hand, and just talking to him. Not about monsters or quests, but about anything and everything else. He’d missed the smell of apples and his cold hand in his, and his shaggy hair falling out of it’s ponytail, and nuzzling into his neck… Not that they did that often before, Will just found that he rather enjoyed doing that. (Especially since it prompted the Italian to curse him in his mother tongue, which Will will forever _melt over._ )

Nico had looked worse, which Will was shamefully thankful for. The bruised and battered boy next to him had light in his eyes now, and he was laughing more, and simply speaking in general more. Before this whole quest nonsense started, Nico was still shy to holding hands, and now he walked through the trees holding onto Will with both of his hands, leaning into him with a shiver whenever the wind blew. And the boy himself seemed to notice his own improvement, a look of shy pride written in his features.

Will kissed the top of his head, if only to smell his hair. Apples and sweat and blood. Beautiful.

“You’re being awfully gross today,” Nico commented, though the slight hum in his voice suggested that he didn’t actually mind.

“Well, a lot’s happened.” _I killed you, for example._

Nico leaned away, taking his comforting smells and warmth with him. Will pouted. “If this is about that nightmare you had, Will, I promise I’m okay. That place just messes with your mind and uses your own fears against you.”

  
Will nodded. “And I’m afraid of not being able to save you…”

“But you _did_ and I’m _fine_ ,” Nico squeezed his hand as if to drive the point home. He kicked a rock in front of Will’s feet, prompting an impromptu game of rock soccer as they ventured through the bubble woods.

  
“When were you going to tell me about your light abilities?”

“Never.”

“Solace!”

“They’re embarrassing! They’re triggered by emotion I guess and the color represents that emotion?” Will groaned, using his free hand to rub his face, trying to hide the redness of his cheeks.

They lost their rock to a puddle, but Nico picked up a different one and the game continued.

“So the first light was pink because..”

Will mumbled his reply, avoiding eye contact completely and throwing the rock soccer game again.

“What? Speak up, Solace.”

He muttered it again, and Nico roughly tugged him closer, craning his neck over and getting very close to his face. “Did I hear that correctly? You… _love_ me? And _that’s_ why the light was pink?”

Will’s face flared. “You knew!”

“Of course I knew, Solace, you are without a doubt the least subtle person in his world.”

“I hate you.”

“Lies,” Nico smirked at him, that stupid, cute, _evil_ mastermind. They forgoed their attempts at rock soccer and instead tried to avoid stepping on snails. The wood they were in suggested that it was no longer summer, but late fall or early winter. Dark red and orange leaves littered the dirt path the group was walking on, and there was a heavy chill in the air. Darcy very quietly mentioned that it smelled like rain, and though they all looked to the sky, it was only dark and vaguely indigo, like it were being filtered through purple sunglasses.

So goes bubble logic, Will guessed.

“So then, why was your arrow violet? What emotion is violet?” Nico tilted his head at him.

Will shrugged. He’d been thinking about that himself, but so far hadn’t come up with any real ideas.

“I’m not sure. It didn’t feel like I was angry or scared at the time. Maybe it wasn’t an emotion?”

Darcy, who had been eavesdropping, began to walk backwards, facing them as she added her input.

“I know violet can be related to royalty or nobility. Maybe you come from a long line of kings or princes.”

Nico’s cheeks warmed, though Will wasn’t sure why, and he mumbled a, “Yea.. maybe…” Will only shrugged. He didn’t think himself of royal descent, despite the whole God for a father thing. Not that Apollo oozed noble, respectable prince in any way. _Yikes, no offense,_ he added, wondering if he could still strike him down through this bubble barrier. Somehow he thought he heard a distant _none taken_ but surely he’d imagined that.

“Or maybe like a Purple Heart?” Nico regained his voice, though he cleared his throat first. “Like the award they give soldiers for courage? It was pretty courageous, wasn’t it?”

Darcy eagerly nodded, falling behind Lou Ellen and Erecura to walk side by side with them without worry of tripping.

“Purple also represents Jupiter.”

“Jupiter?” Nico turned to examine Will’s face. “You’d look good in glasses.” He reached out a cold (though significantly less cold than when they first started holding hands) hand and ruffled the blonde curls that dangled over Will’s eyes.

“But don’t cut your hair.”

Will stuttered, caught off guard by the glasses comment, but recovered with, “You _should_ cut _your_ hair.”

The son of Hades fauxed aghast, pulling back his hand and pulling his hair free from its already falling ponytail. It slightly brushed the tops of his shoulders and framed his face in a waterfall of dark waves. He batted his big brown puppy eyes at Will teasingly.

“You _love_ my hair.”

Will coughed, grumbling and turning his head away. Maybe he did. Maybe he didn’t. Like he’d ever tell anyone the answer to that _ever_. (It’s a yes.)

“You should both cut your hair,” Darcy said, flicking out her own with her hands. “It’s very freeing.”

They had idle conversations after that; Darcy suggested Nico dye white streaks in his hair, and Will struck up the nickname Death The Kid at the thought. They talked about what they were going to do when they got back to camp, and Lou Ellen finished up her conversation with the Goddess and joined them.

“Sleep.” Lou Ellen, Will, and Nico all said the word in unison, a droopy expression on their face. Erecura commented on their laziness, but Darcy smiled, rubbing the back of her neck.

“A nap sounds amazing…”

Lou Ellen leaned over to hook arms with the girl, grinning at her with a curious look. “You mentioned before that you wanted to go home. But is Half-Blood Hill home for you?”

Will was surprised he hadn’t given that much thought himself, seeing as he planned to help her in any way he could. If Darcy’s home wasn’t at camp, then where would she be going once they got back?

The blizzard haired girl hummed, focused on crunching the leaves under her bare feet. “Home is…” She lost herself in thought, looking up at the bare trees and shivering at the slight chill in the wind.

“...where the heart is?” Erecura guessed, though the demigod shook her head and gave a mere shrug as her final answer.

“I suppose…”

“Well, either way,” the Goddess breathed in deeply. “Feels like we’re getting close to the edge of this bubble ‘verse.”

Lou Ellen threw her head back in uncontained _joy_ , moaning loudly. “Ruttin’ _finally_..”

“Pity,” Darcy sighed. “Autumn is my favorite season.”

The place where the bubble ended and the real world began gave Will a ‘snowglobe feeling.’ Just passed the purple tinged barrier, leaves still clung to their trees and the sky was cloudless, save for a few wisps of white that tried to form bigger clouds but just couldn’t. Seeing an almost completely different world just beyond the purple casing felt surreal, not that anything Will had seen-- or done-- on this quest had felt very ‘realistic.’ Was ‘realistic’ a good word for a demigod to use? Were any demigods ‘realistic’ or experience such things?

A sudden wave of feeling washed over him then, and the son of Apollo almost physically recoiled when the voice first touched his mind.

_...not...safe--_

There was no clear sound to the voice to suggest if it were male or female, but they sounded frantic and shot tendrils of panic through him as if to emphasize their point. Will vaguely registered Nico whispering something to him, but he found that he couldn’t reply. The panic in him suppressed somewhat when he thought of the dark haired son of Hades, and it didn’t rise when he looked to Lou Ellen or Darcy. When his eyes found the Goddess Erecura, the panic soared and he did stutter in his steps, Nico having to right him again with (what he assumed, he still couldn’t hear) was a scold.

_Not safe… not safe…_ Will tried so hard to think, but thinking only seemed to make it worse. _Is Erecura in danger? Is something going to happen to her?_

The voice reemerged, slightly louder but also, in a way, softer, like they realized they'd hurt Will the first time and was trying to apologize. _Ge… away fr…. ura, you aren… afe with…_

He gave Nico’s hand a small squeeze, expressing the discomfort he didn’t want to say out loud. He didn’t understand, Geaway? Frura? The words hadn’t registered as Greek, and Will was sure they weren’t Italian, yet the anxiety and _warning_ in them was highlighted at a 36pt font.

“...Lo? Wiiiiill? Willy? Willy Wonka?” Lou Ellen’s face blurred into view, shaking him from his own mind. She was inches away from his face and poking and pinching at his cheeks, trying to get his attention. “Can I call you Bill? Billy? Billy goat?”

Will pushed her away, rolling his eyes.

“No, you can’t.”

“Geewiz way to space out, Kill Bill.”

Nico looked more concerned than amused, quietly inquiring if Will was alright with that _look_ in his eyes. The most honest, sweetest, _perfect_ look that reduced Will to a puddle of sunbeam. He grinned earnestly at him, pushing the voice to the back of his mind for now.

 **  
** “Yea, I’m okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what a liar
> 
> in other news, has anyone watched seasons 2 of Noragami and K? anyone else excited for Haikyuu?! i'm not the only weeb here am i oh geeze..


	27. Distant Thunder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it rolls and rumbles  
> you'll feel it vibrate in your bones if you let it  
> it'll become your heartbeat if you breath it in

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heeeyyy~<3 i'm in a good mood bc my day was kinda just generally sucky and i went to a new mexican restaurant that opened up and the food was SOOO GOOOD and i got some churros for dessert and OOHHH MAAAN they were sooo greeaaatt aaahhh
> 
> anyway

Will had gotten quiet. Really, uncharacteristically quiet. And that whole “Yea I’m okay,” _blatant lie_ was more Nico’s character trait than it was Will’s, wasn’t it?

Nico opened his mouth to ask him what was wrong, what happened so suddenly that caused him to look so.. panicked? He got to “Will, wha--” before Lou Ellen cut him off with a sharp cry of pain.

She held her right hand close to her chest, and only at Darcy’s insistence did she let her take it. Darcy’s eyes widened slightly, but she managed to shush Lou Ellen’s whimperings with a few soft words.

Her fingers were badly burned, swollen and an angry red. Lou Ellen was still wincing when Will let go of Nico to see the wound for himself. He muttered under his breath for a while, gently holding Lou Ellen’s fingers with his own as he looked them over.

“I don’t think it’s too serious, maybe only a first degree burn.” He looked up, staring at Lou Ellen like a disappointed parent. “What did you do, Lou?”

The daughter of Hecate pouted and used her good hand to throw a gesture to the bubble universe’s border. “I was just trying to get out, but it’s _hot_.” She flinched when Will started up his magic healing hands, but when he was done, she lifted her fingers in front of her face and wiggled them freely.

“Ah, ow.”

“I don’t have any aloe so they’re gonna sting for a bit.” Will explained, turning to the bubble-- the culprit, the fiend. Erecura was on the other side, apparently speaking as her lips were moving, not that anyone could hear her words.

Nico reached out and held his palm mere inches from the bubble’s surface, despite Darcy’s sudden gasp or Will’s shouting at him. After a few seconds, he dropped his hand.

“It isn’t giving off any heat.”

Will gave him his best _do that again and I’ll kill you myself_ glare, but Nico just stuck out his tongue at him. He was still concerned about what Will was thinking about earlier, though he supposed he ought to focus on the matter at hand for the moment.

Lou Ellen got as close to the bubble as she could without burning off the end of her nose. “ERECURA. HOW DO WE GET OUT?”

The Goddess made a confused face which was amusing to the son of Hades, and she cupped her hand around her ear, her mouth moving.

“Gods, Lou, don’t yell,” Will crossed his arms. “She can’t hear us.”  Lou Ellen pulled a Nico and stuck out her tongue at him. Will rolled his eyes and threw his hands out to the side.

A sudden chill sparked down Nico’s spine and he spun around, seeing only bare trees and fallen leaves piled below them. A light breeze shook the piles, and a few stray leaves broke free and rolled into the bubble, promptly bursting into flames and dissipating into ash.

_Huh…_ The son of Hades very carefully reached out his soul-- or whatever he usually used--  to sense through the wood, trying to find the source of his unease. He could only catch ‘glimpses’ of another presence before it would vanish again, but even so, what he _had_ felt left a rotten taste in his mouth.

“Will.”

Solace turned his head to look at him, arms crossed. “Hm?”

“Don’t freak out.”

“...Nico, what?”

Nico dropped his voice to a whisper, still scanning through the trees. “There’s something in the woods.”

Will tensed, peeking through the corner of his eye to the wood where a shadow had just flickered. Lou Ellen was frozen solid, clutching on painfully tight to Darcy’s hand. The white haired girl was nodding slowly.

“Yes, I sense it too.” She supplied quietly, hazel eyes carefully peering through the trees. “However, I can’t seem to pinpoint a location, let alone who it could be.”

“Same here.” Nico relaxed his shoulders, focusing his energy and picturing it flowing from him in all directions, reaching and searching like a radar. _If I could just… Huh?_ Nico felt something twist in his gut, and when he found Darcy’s face, she only proved what he’d been thinking.

“It’s gone,” Darcy exhaled, relaxing. “It grew large for a moment and then just disappeared.”

“The bubble’s gone too, look.” Lou Ellen was waving her arms through the space the bubble’s edge once occupied, Will looking more exhausted than usual right next to her. Nico’s heart clenched.

Will stretched out his freckled arms behind his back and groaned with the effort. “Well, we can leave now at least. It was probably nothing important if it didn’t attack us, right?” Darcy looked reluctant to agree but she shrugged, taking the first few steps into their universe, vanishing once she was beyond the bubble.

The rest of the crew followed, Nico last, and glanced behind them. The once cozy autumn wood was now a summer forest, leaves a healthy green and not a snail in sight. Darcy let out a sad sound. Lou Ellen looked all the more relieved to be rid of Lyssa’s palace it seemed.

“I’ve come to two conclusions.”

Erecura stood before the group, arms crossed over her chest and hiking boots tapping impatiently on the ground.

She held up one finger. “First, I was wrong about it being a pocket universe. Or rather, _just_ a pocket universe.”

Lou Ellen: “‘Just’?”

“It’s a pocket universe _and_ a pocket of time. Which explains the season change inside when you exited.”

Nico slowly began to understand, nodding to himself. “And the second thing?”

“Well the second thing isn’t as much a conclusion as it is a-- I would call it a question?” Erecura ushered the demigods in front of her and pressed on, putting as much distance between Lyssa’s palace and them as she was able to.

Darcy asked, “And what is it? Your question?”

“Well I was able to get out like a breeze, wasn’t I?” Erecura cast a glance over her shoulder. “So why weren’t you? And likewise, someone had to disable the bubble first. Now I’ve got a handful of guesses who--”

Darcy stumbled, to which Erecura scolded and righted her again. Nico wondered if she was feeling what he was feeling. That twisting in his gut hadn’t left, but only gotten stronger as they kept moving. _Whatever’s following us… must be close._

Nico fell into step beside his boyfriend, who glared at the ground with a puzzled look on his face. He didn’t seem to notice Nico, muttering under his breath words that Nico couldn’t recognize, Greek or otherwise. His deep sea eyes were screwed in concentration, the son of Hades could practically see the gears turning behind that mop of blonde.

“Will.”

Solace didn’t register the voice, his mumbling only getting slightly louder and his eyes darting at empty space.

“...Will?” Nico tried waving a hand in front of his face, but he didn’t even see it. Or the blonde freckled daymare was ignoring him, but Nico prefered to give him the benefit of the doubt.

“William _Idiota_ Solace.”

The son of Apollo jolted, finally acknowledging Nico’s presence and voice, his cheeks warming pink. He frowned at him.

“Gods, what? _Idiota_ is not my middle name.”

Nico shrugged his shoulders. “You’ve been glaring at the ground and talking to yourself, forgive me for worrying.” he confessed. “What _is_ your middle name?”

“Ah,” Will tried to smile, but Nico knew the difference between smile-so-Nico-doesn’t-know-something’s-wrong and a genuine Solace brand smile. “Sorry. My middle name is Dakota.”

The blonde dropped his gaze again, though seemingly lower than before, and tried to stare at the trees around them like they were trees he’d never seen before and he was utterly fascinated by them.

A small sigh escaped Nico.

“...Will?”  

“Hm.”

He bit his lip, hesitant. They’d been through a lot, hadn’t they? Surely they trusted each other by now… right? He wanted so badly to believe that, and he was tired of hiding all of these thoughts, and yet..

“Will.” He said again, a little harder this time. Will turned his head and found his eyes, his frown quivering slightly as he tried to smile again.

“What?”  
“Stop that,” the dark haired demigod groaned. “Stop smiling when you obviously aren’t happy and just tell me what’s wrong already.”

Will had been stunned into silence, a look of guilt washing over his face. He gave a sideways glance to the others, all a little bit behind them, and then grumbled low. “Fine,” he sighed, brushing the back of Nico’s hand with his fingers. Nico pulled it away. _This is what you get for being weird,_ he thought, swallowing and trying to resist Will’s perfected puppy face.

Will watched him for a moment, probably deciding he deserved this small punishment, and drew back his hand, running it through his hair.

“I…” He shook his head. “It’s crazy--”

“Everything about us is crazy,” Nico’s eyes softened. “Go on.” Will nodded, confidence restored.

“I heard something. A voice, right before we left the bubble.” The boy was playing with his fingers absentmindedly, and Nico was reminded of his nervous tic; twisting the skull ring on his hand.

“I don’t know… exactly what it said, I’ve been trying to figure it out this whole time.”

Nico was nodding slowly, and Will recited what the voice had said to him, though it didn’t seem to make much sense to him either.

“Geaway.. Frura…”

Will scooted a little closer to Nico, throwing another look at the others, making sure they were still out of earshot.

“‘Geaway.’ I think that means ‘Get away,’ but I don’t know what ‘frura’ is supposed to be. Nico, I think we’re in danger.”

“Drats. Again?” Nico deadpanned, earning a glare from his boyfriend who smacked his arm.

“This is serious, Death Breath, that _thing_ followed us out remember? What if it’s after us? After Darcy or something?”

Nico blew out a sigh, kicking at the dirt and splaying it in front of him. “I have actually been feeling like something’s _off_ lately. Ever since we stepped foot out of that palace, actually..” He tried his hand at organizing his memories, searching for the exact moment in which his unease manifested and whether or not he could tie it in with Will’s mysterious ‘voice.’

“Alrighty!” Erecura’s voice rang loud and clear, though she didn’t have to shout, honestly. She dipped half her forearm into her cargo shorts pocket and dug around, eventually producing a scoopful of pearls.

“We’re pretty far away from that bubble, I imagine these should work just fi--” A shadow blacker than anything Nico’s ever seen shot out from the woods and jetted by the Goddess, skimming the end of her nose. Understandably, she squealed and the pearls were thrown into the air, where the shadow leaped out again to collect them.

Lou Ellen was gripping Darcy’s hand and wrist with white knuckled fists, and the other girl was wincing at the pressure, but seemingly didn’t mind the pain if it comforted the wide eyed and shivering daughter of Hecate.

“Wh-wha-wha..”

Darcy shushed her, a focused glint in her eye. Nico immediately understood what she was doing, and rushed to do the same, searching for that dark source again.

Darcy’s brow knitted. “I.. I can’t…” She was straining with the effort, a hand lightly pressing against where he wound had been, as if it still brought her phantom pains. Nico was suffering something similar; his head started to warm up and it felt like his body was burning alive. Will steeled him, a hand gently holding his upper arm.

“Hey,” came Will’s silky voice. “Nico, stop. Please. You’re hurting yourself, please.” He sounded so upset, less angry than he had expected, and more afraid.

Nico opened his eyes-- when had he closed them?-- and found Will’s dizzy image, relaxing as he let it go.

“But--”

“No buts, there’s no point finding that thing if you don’t have the strength to put up a fight.” He gave an equally hard but caring glance to Darcy. “You, too.” The girl gasped in air when she let go, Lou Ellen steadying her but still looking terrified.

Erecura, recovered and glaringly embarrassed, dusted off her clothes, grumbling to herself. She shot a growling stare to the woods where the shadow had disappeared, and Nico flinched when she suddenly turned her head to him.

“..Well?”  

The son of Hades rubbed his eyes. “Well what?”

“Did you sense it? Do you know where it is?”

Had.. had Erecura been paying attention, like, at all? The demigod shook his head at her with an are-you-joking look, and the Goddess abruptly spun to face Darcy, who jumped with a small squeak.

“And you, lass?”

Darcy appeared apologetic, cheeks red and eyes cast to the side. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

Displeased, Erecura made her way to the nearest tree and set her hand against it, leaning as she dropped her head. She groaned, loudly, muttering to herself: “Do you know how hard it was… to get those ruttin’ pearls… “ She banged her head against the tree with a sigh. “But of course… of course, of course _she_ comes along and just.. takes ‘em. Typical…” Her tangent strung off into a string of curses-- most of which were in Irish, all of which turned Darcy as white as a sheet with terror.

“We can get them back,” Will said, shrugging a little. “I mean, why take a bunch of pearls that can transport you some place if you aren’t going to use them, right?”

Lou Ellen was hugging herself, standing very closely behind Nico and often resting her head on his shoulder. She lifted it, her eyes scarily blank. “So we can’t escape,” she whispered, resting her head on Nico again.

“Okay Creepy,” Nico couldn’t help but grin. “In any case, we don’t have the pearls to get back now. So, we need to either get them back somehow or commence plan B.”

Darcy, recovered, patted consolingly on Lou Ellen’s shoulder. “What’s plan B?”

_That is an excellent question…_ Nico looked to Will. Will looked to Nico. Realizing that neither of them had any fresh ideas in mind as to what plan B should be, they shared a brief panicked glance before Erecura interrupted the group:

“Plan B is Plan A: Get me back my pearls.” An aura was rolling off the Goddess; menacing and a little frightening, but Nico easily sensed the anger was not directed at any one of them. Not that… it would be, right? He wasn’t sure why he made a point to note that Erecura’s threatening temper was definitely not worrying, but that in itself made him start to worry… His head hurt.

“How,” came Lou Ellen’s exasperated, cracking voice. “We don’t even know what took them.”

 _Erecura knows…_ Nico realized. She’d referred to the shadow as a ‘she,’ didn’t she? Or maybe she meant she knew who sent the shadow.. Whatever the case, there was definitely something Erecura wasn’t telling them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so we've established Erecura as a bit shady, eh? and to think she was so kind to begin with, right? 
> 
> ...right?


	28. Dark Clouds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a cloak in the sky  
> cold but soft  
> often found in muddled befuddled minds  
> often the cause of the tears on the pillow case

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heya sorry about not updating last week!

“Um.. Hae.. Hae-Won?”

Hae-Won’s eyes rose to peek out from the top of her glasses, staring down the newest Apollo recruit, Dustin. The boy almost shrank back at her glare, powder blue eyes bulging as he swallowed nervously.

“What.” Honestly, she didn’t understand it. Ever since she stepped in as impromptu head counselor for the Apollo cabin, her siblings seemed to be wary of her. The patients were well enough, and she was kind to them as she should be, and they often told her how nice she was, so why were the Apollo kids the only ones frightened of her?

Dustin Santiago gulped, hands clutching the hem of his shirt as he tried to open his mouth to speak. Hae-Won, placing the book she had been reading, (Piper had loaned it to her, tears in her eyes. Something about Patroclus and Achilles… Hae-Won thought it’d have been historical. She was.. close?) and plastered a sincere look on her face, attempting to soften her gaze to ease some of Dustin’s nerves.   
It didn’t work.

“U-Um..”

Hae-Won huffed out a sigh and the boy jumped. She grumbled to herself. Tadashi never had any of these problems, everyone in the Athena cabin loved him. He was such a clutz, though, how was he so good with--

“Hae-Won?”

“Yes! Yes, what is it Dustin!” The girl rubbed her temples. How long did it take to have a conversation for Zeus sake…

“It’s just that… it’s been a long time.”

Ah. Right. Of course, Hae-Won hadn’t forgotten the day the Darcy Rescue Squad Trio left the camp, leaving her in charge. She was doing her best, really, but her social skills… let’s just say Hae-Won was never exactly ‘graceful.’

Nico di Angelo had scared the drachmas out of her. She’d heard the rumors, and she tried not to let them influence her caretaking, _plus_ Will entrusted her with this and she couldn’t say no to the _head counselor._ The daughter of Apollo really wanted to please him, seeing as he’s obviously in love with the son of Hades. But _gods_ that boy knew how to scare people, and probably enjoy the torment that--

“Hae-Won, are you listening?”

“Hm? What?”

Dustin sighed, rubbing his arm. “It’s almost been a month,” he said quietly. “Do you think they’re…”

“They’re fine,” Hae-Won’s face actually broke out into a smile, a real one. She grinned at Dustin, and the boy gave her a hopeful smile back. “They’re with Apollo’s greatest healer, of course they’re just fine. He probably got lost in the woods somewhere and had a mini vacation in a cabin with his boyfriend.”

“What about Lou Ellen? Is she okay too?”

“Lou Ellen is with them, probably puking at their lovey-dovey displays of affection.”

Dustin’s voice became a whisper. “..And Darcy?”

Hae-Won paused, genuinely thinking it over. That girl was definitely a force of nature, she just had to hope that she was… in control.

“Yea,” she said instead. “Darcy’s probably with them right now, ready to come back and…” Hae-Won trailed off. And what? Lay in that bunk again? There wasn’t a cabin for any of Lyssa’s children yet, though Will put in an order for one and the Athena and Hephaestus cabins were working on it, and in worse case, Hazel Levesque had offered to share her space with the girl.. Even so, she’d be alone. Again.

_How did I let that happen.._ Suddenly Hae-Won wished she’d been assigned Darcy Devlin instead of Nico di Angelo. She had no idea who was Darcy’s primary nurse, though she suspected it to be Viktor, but she knew that the mistreatment of a patient was against the rules.

 _Was it mistreatment?_ The girl certainly gave off a strong ‘leave-me-alone’ vibe during her time in the infirmary, but as healers, wasn’t it their job to find the cause of her pain and eradicate it? There were plenty of campers here that were good at listening to problems and helping someone through them, Tadashi and the Hypnos girl with the pink hair for example.

“We’re gonna be different this time.”

Dustin gave her a confused expression, unsure of what she meant by those words. “Different?”

Hae-Won shook her head. “Better.”

“Miss Moon!” It was the pink-haired Hypnos girl--what was her name? She’d burst in like a pastel windstorm, calling for Hae-Won and attracting the attention of a few of the patients. She’d been one herself, they’d discovered her irregular sleep-wake syndrome on her first night at camp. Or rather, Will had..

Dustin: “Clef, what’s wrong?”

Clef, catching her breath as she appeared to have sprinted here, managed out: “Something… in the forest…” before collapsing against the wall in an attempt to slow her breathing.

“Is it them?” Dustin’s eyes were wide and seriously hopeful. Clef offered him a sad smile, then a serious glance to Hae-Won.

“We.. don’t know.. _what_ it is.”

\---

Darcy had bitten her tongue. Not in the physical sense, but in the sense that she could’ve offered up a Plan B-- a horribly risky but possible one-- but instead clamped her mouth shut and went along with Erecura’s Plan A.

She’d divided them into three groups: Darcy with Will, Lou Ellen with Nico, and Erecura by herself. From there, they fanned out slowly, with instructions to yell if they found the shadow or the pearls.

Walking side by side, Darcy was now painfully aware of her bare feet as she stepped flinchingly on pebbles and acorns. For a brief moment she asked herself why she’d discarded her shoes before remembering the glittery golden heels and taking into account what she was trudging through. No no, she prefered being barefoot, this was quite fine.

Lou Ellen had offered to give Darcy her shoes and rough it out in socks, but she didn’t want to admit that Lou Ellen’s shoes were too small for her and pretended that she wasn’t bothered.

_At least I’m not in that dress anymore._

Beside her, Will Solace barely contained his sigh, and she had to roll her eyes at the boy.

“I’m sorry you didn’t get paired with Nico,” she started, genuinely. Will shrugged gloomily at her, kicking rocks and avoiding her soft gaze.

“Though, let’s be honest, you wouldn’t have been able to focus.” The boy pinked at that, opening his mouth to protest, but it died on his tongue and he made another eye-roll worthy sigh.

Darcy hesitated, then gently and quickly brushed her fingers onto his shoulder in a consoling gesture before snatching them back. “Lou Ellen is with him,” she tried. “He’s not weak either. He’ll be fine. A-And so will we!” She added the last part after a beat of silence, hoping she didn’t just jinx them.

Will appeared minimally comforted by that, giving her a small smile for her efforts. “So,” he almost sighed but caught himself. “Have you… sensed anything yet?”

“No, not since it disappeared.” She admitted, feeling useless. This was so awkward, she’d never really been alone with Will before-- at least, not without Nico there or some major threat taking away all her attention. The memory of him carrying her back into the infirmary assaulted her then, and she felt her face heat up. Darcy almost wondered why she wasn’t angrier at him for that, for dumping her on a bunk and never bothering to learn her name.

_Not that I knew his, either…_ There was no point in digging up past wounds to cry over, she figured. Plus, it seemed like ever since Nico was confined to the infirmary, Will had a different air about him. And it wasn’t like a temporary change either, even now with Nico nowhere to be found, Will still felt… _different_. A good different. The Will who helped her then and the one pouting next to her now are completely different demigods.

“...Why didn’t you tell us?”

His voice, though coated with a gentle touch, had a clear cut edge to it. Darcy found his eyes.

“Tell you what?”

“Who your godly parent was. If we’d known we could’ve--”

“No,” Darcy shook her head at him. “No, you couldn't have.”

She drew in a deep breath of the cool tasting air before continuing, “It wasn’t medical, my.. affliction. It was mental. I couldn’t come to terms with it-- with what I’d done. I couldn’t accept that I…” She waved her hand and Will nodded, understanding. “I mean, how could I? Could you? If something happened and someone you loved.. if Nico suddenly tried to kill you, could you kill him to protect yourself?”

The question brought a heavy silence, and Darcy realized what she’d asked. She’d stuttered out an apology, “I-I-I shouldn’t have said-said that, I’m sorry I’m so sorry--” But Will very quietly gave her an answer.

“No. But I have.”

From there, he explained to Darcy the dream he’d had when they’d first arrived at Lyssa’s palace. He described every scene, every word, every _Hey Solace_. He struggled through the sword fight, the golden eyed Nico with his sword of black, and he stumbled in his explanation of his own dripping sword.

When he finished, Darcy swiftly wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded, whispering.

“That’s exactly what happened, though I guess his eyes were gold in your vision because it really did feel like I was killing him, and not that he was killing me..” She sniffed. “I’m sorry, Will. I guess you understand more than I thought. I’m sorry you went through that, though.”

“I’m still not over it,” he confessed. “It felt so _real_ and when I woke up and saw him on the ground I th-thought..”

“Just a trick,” Darcy said, harder than she meant to but Will didn’t seem jarred by it. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“I suppose I never told anyone who my parent was because of _who_ she was. Goddess of Madness and Chaos and Ghosts…” She waved her hand again, sighing. “I could already see how everyone acted around Nico. Like they were stepping around broken glass.. I didn’t want to be pitied.”

Very softly, she added: “Or feared.”

Will seemed to chew on this new information for a bit, nodding along with her words. He gave a half shrug, adjusting the bow that hung from his back.

“To be honest, I used to think it was all in di Angelo’s head. I never really noticed how anyone else was watching him because I was also watching him.” His face barely turned red at the words. “He’s made a lot of progress since then, but I don’t think it’s possible to ever fully dispel people’s fear. I mean, ever since Gaea? Even Jackson and Chase are being avoided by a few campers, younger ones usually, but when something happens that’s that level of traumatizing… I don’t think people can help it.”

He glanced to Darcy, quickly continuing, “I mean, they’re getting a lot better too. Lou Ellen actually told me once that she was getting nervous around Piper McLean ever since she showed up. Have you met Piper?--” Darcy confessed that she hadn’t with a small grin. “--She’s the sweetest girl, seconded only by Nico’s sister Hazel. Point is, no one can really help what everyone else thinks of them. But give it time, and they’ll learn to understand, too.”

He smiled a little wider. “Oh, and Lou and Pipes are friends now. Thought I’d add that just in case.” Darcy smiled back at him.

A spark in her gut jolted her from the conversation, and she spun around at the sensation. Her eyes darted through the trees as she reached for it again, miraculously finding the dark presence and latching on. (With what, she didn’t know. Some magic dark GPS probably.) Will was at her side in an instant, giving a nod which seemed to say, _lead the way._

She did, hesitant at first because what if it wasn’t the thing that stole the pearls? It certainly didn’t feel like the one from inside the bubble, yet oddly similar.

Darcy winced at the twigs she snapped, freezing in place as she waited. The shadow creature hardly noticed, and it even seemed to slow down as she recovered her steps, Will in tow, bow already locked and loaded, an amusing serious expression on his face.

_What_ , he mouthed at her. The girl shook her head with a small chuckle, resuming the slow-speed chase.

The feeling that pooled in her stomach was dark and very cold as it tugged her along. She was reminded of rainy days and broken umbrellas, and of standing under the nearest awning in a stupor built on exhaustion. The feeling brought on the ache of being awake for far too long, and the longing for a special kind of sleep. The eternal kind.

_It_ is _a shadow beast,_ she thought, stifling back a yawn. _Maybe it’s tired of trudging on like this._

The shadow suddenly stopped, causing Darcy to falter and Will to nearly trip over her. He whispered another, “What?” and Darcy simply shushed him with a hand over his mouth.

_Something isn’t right, something is very wrong.._ She hoped Will could read the confusion and panic in her eyes, wishing suddenly to have telepathy and then wondering if there were any demigods lucky enough with that ability. Likely not, though who knows?

Alas, this talent seemed to only be shared between Will and Nico, for Will struggled under her fingers before pushing them off in a huff.

“What? What’s wrong?”  

A sound like leaves in a wind tunnel deafened their ears as the wind erupted and circled around them. Darcy had opened her mouth to tell Will, to warn him that it’d been a trap, but closed it upon tasting the dirt the sudden gusts were whipping up. She squinted her eyes, reaching out a hand and grabbing Will by the shirt sleeve and pulling. Their tornado cage seemed to be decreasing in size, forcing Darcy and Will to stumble closer.

 _We need to go,_ Darcy’s mind was racing. _We need to call for the others…_

Something frigid and spindly coiled around Darcy’s wrist, and it appeared very much like a human hand, but a dead one with claw-like fingernails and purpling skin and eye-popping veins in its wrist. The girl screamed, involuntarily she might add, choking on dirt again, and the hand shakingly released her, moving to pry her fingers off the orange fabric of Will’s Half-Blood t-shirt.

Darcy swung around her other hand and latched on, tugging until she could make out the mop of Will’s blonde hair amidst the swirling leaves and soil.

“W-Will! Hold- Gah, hold on!”

The son of Apollo coughed something that vaguely resembled English, turning against the wind and reaching out to grab onto Darcy. His hand was almost brushing her shoulder when the corpse fingered hand shot out from the nothing and caught Will in a vice-like grip, causing the boy to cry in shock and pain. Very slowly and almost with robotic movements, the hand began to drag Will from the vortex of wind, and from the wide-eyed daughter of Lyssa.

Will struggled against the hand, twisting his wrist to the point of near breaking. Darcy managed to latch onto Will’s forearm before sliding up to his wrist, tugging and pulling with all that she had, which wasn’t much. Will wrapped his fingers around Darcy’s own wrist, and the girl flinched at the pain of being stretched.

_No, no, oh gods, what is happening?_

“Will!” She cried again, hearing his groaning as he strained to get free. The hand must have squeezed harder, as the boy winced heavily and something of an Italian curse stuttered from his lips. He dug his feet into the earth, trying to use it as leverage and lean away, but his feet stumbled and he couldn’t keep his grip.

The hand disappeared from view once it passed the roaring wind barrier, taking with it Will’s own hand and wrist. The boy had this expression.. Darcy’s seen it before, she’d seen it in her brother’s eyes before she… she...

“Darcy!”

The girl looked up, unhappy to admit that there were small tears in her eyes that she couldn’t wipe away. His voice.. It was in his voice..

“..No.”

“Darcy, let go.”

“NO!” At her shout, the ever shrinking cage of wind quivered, but it stood firm. Will had that look in his eyes, that sad look he gives Nico when he thinks the shorter demigod isn’t looking. Like he’s staring at something that’s a little broken. Like he’s staring at something he wants to fix.

_“I don’t need to be fixed!”_ She wanted to scream. _“I’m not a cracked porcelain doll that you can just patch up and sit on a shelf! I have cracks and scars and they aren’t going away but they’re who I am now! Don’t give up, not now, not when Nico needs you! Lou Ellen!_ Me _! Don’t give up, don’t give--”_

“It’ll be okay.”

Even as his hair was whipping around his face, the blue in his eyes brought an eerie level of calm. He was up to his elbow now… his bicep… his shoulder.

“N-No..!” Darcy squeaked with the effort, a broken record refusing to give in. “No..”

“It’ll be okay,” he repeated. Though it was difficult to hear over the roar, Darcy made out the words just fine. “That’s the feeling I get…”

Gently, Will started to pull his other arm away from Darcy’s grasp. The girl tightened her fingers, glaring at him.

“No! Stop!”

Will smiled-- a stupid, handsome smile that momentarily dashed away all her worries and doubts before she remembered where they were and what they were facing.

 **  
** And she let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've dragged this out for so long WOW this was never supposed to be this long of a fic and yet


	29. When it Rains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> soothing when it begins  
> all light and airy  
> quick to sour  
> and fill your rainboots with a smile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry its so short, but to be fair the next one is kind of long ;;

She wasn’t sure. Not of much. Not anymore, anyway.

That ever so familiar numbness of which she was so well acquainted creeped into her skin and began its torment.

_Wasn’t strong enough.._ Maybe if she were stronger and didn’t have to rely on Madness or Chaos for assistance…

 _Should’ve known.._ What kind of phantom waits for her to catch up? It was obviously leading them into a trap, she should’ve seen that.

 _Nico wouldn’t have let go.._ Oh gods, Nico. How was she going to tell Nico? Will acted like it wasn’t that big of a deal, like he’d be back, but how was he so sure and _how was she supposed to tell Nico?_

Darcy’d been stumbling around the woods blindly, half-heartedly reaching out to locate Nico’s group. She had to tell them, of course, and she was going to. The question was still how.

_“Your boyfriend got kidnapped by a phantom because I wandered into a trap! But, don’t worry, he said he would be fine! So I let him go!”_

The girl shivered. She’d seen the famous death glares the son of Hades had to offer and prayed to Hera above that she would never be on the receiving end.

A blip on her Nico-dar captured her attention and squeezed her heart as she moved to follow her mental path. Each step colder than the last..

\---

“ _No_.”

“Oh, come on Nico, look at him! He just wants a momma, pleeeease?”

Lou Ellen hoisted the puppy up, balancing him on her hip with wide, glittery eyes. The dog was a dark brown with a pair of ears the color of ash, one of them flipped up. He had black spots on his legs and feet that looked like socks, and his wagging tail was dipped in a lighter grey. The pup’s eyes were a melty copper color, and they were fixated on Nico with a wide and innocent look, much like Lou Ellen’s. The resulting puppy face combo looked ridiculous and Nico wasn’t buying into it.

“Lou Ellen, no, we’re not taking him back with us. He has a collar, he’s obviously someone’s pet.” He gestured to the strap of leather around the dog’s neck, the dangling pendant reading “Anubis.”

Lou Ellen guffawed. “And some mother they were to him, letting him run out all alone!” She nuzzled her face into the dog’s neck, earning a lick to her nose. “I would _never_ let you leave by yourself. No I wouldn’t, no I wouldn’t!” Her voice turned sickly sweet as she baby babbled at the creature, which happily wagged his tail and listened to her make a fool of herself.

Nico groaned. What would Will do in this situation? He imagined his boyfriend staring at Lou Ellen and Anubis with a stern gaze, then slowly start to melt into the dog’s eyes, then probably be right with her, hugging the dog and begging Nico to let them smuggle him into camp.

He sighed.

He knew the camp had horses, and Mrs. O’Leary of course, and he’d heard stories of a Hypnos girl smuggling in stray cats every now and again, but..

“Lou..” Nico softened his voice. “You know it’s not safe..” Lou Ellen whined and nuzzled the dog closer. She drew in a large breath and let it out in a sigh.

“Yea.. Yea I know..”

Anubis gently nudged her chin as if to apologize, licking her ankle once she set him back on the ground. He turned and gave Nico what he took to be a farewell nod before trotting back off into the woods.

Lou Ellen made another whiny noise of distress, and distantly they heard Anubis bark his condolences.

Nico rubbed the back of his neck, glancing up at the leaves on the surrounding trees. Had he ever had a dog? He had this fuzzy memory of something soft and dog-like licking his face as a kid, and Bianca pulling it into her lap with a cooing sound.. He must have been too young to fully remember.. right? It was to clear to be a dream, but too fuzzy to be a perfect memory…

_Snap_.

Both demigods turned their heads at the sound of a twig being trodden on; Lou Ellen’s hand hovering over her sword and Nico quickly putting his finger to his lips, giving the daughter of Hecate a small shake of his head. _Don’t move.._ He hadn’t sensed anything like that shadow from earlier approaching, maybe Anubis had a friend just coming to check them out.. in any case, the presence was obvious, but also obviously unthreatening.

 

Another sound, this time of crunching leaves and a small sniffle. Lou Ellen relaxed and Nico did the same, dropping his hands to his sides with a small measure of relief.  

“Come out.” Lou Ellen said strongly, and Nico involuntarily stiffened, turning red when she raised her eyebrows at him, amused. The bush in front of them rustled a bit as whoever was inside struggled to free themselves of the clinging branches, cursing softly and twisting.

With a loud whump they tripped out and landed on the ground with a squeak.

Nico blinked. “Darcy?”

The girl coughed as she straightened herself, sitting up and rubbing the dirt from her cheeks and brushing it off her shirt. (Lou Ellen’s shirt really, the one from the set of clothes she’d had packed just in case and offered to her so she could get out of that dress.) Her eyes were red and puffy, and now she bore the scratches of the many thorns she’d offended from stumbling around in bushes.

Darcy pushed herself to her feet, refusing to meet Nico’s eye. His heart clenched. What… was this sickening feeling?

He took a small step toward the girl, who remained frozen on the spot.

“What’s wrong.. Darcy?”

Lou Ellen laid a gentle hand on the girl’s shoulder as she opened and closed her mouth in her search for words. When she finally met Nico’s face, his heart nearly stopped. _Oh gods, where is he, where’s Solace, why does she look like that what happened--_

“Darcy, where’s Will..” He couldn’t help the shakiness in his voice, but he couldn’t find himself caring. He was seeing dark palace bedrooms and silver eyes..

“He’s okay!” She said quickly, tripping over the words a few time before getting them to come out correctly. “Well.. he.. h-he said he’d be okay..”

“Darcy.” Nico’s chest was contracting even tighter now, and he was losing patience. “Where’s Will?”

Darcy made a small whimpering noise, and after a few hushed and gentle words from the daughter of Hecate she told him. Everything. Afterwards, Lou Ellen pulled Darcy into a small hug and the girl only protested a little, eventually falling against her with the weight of what she’d done.

Nico’s head felt like it’d been stuffed with wet cotton. He was vaguely aware of Lou Ellen talking to him, probably telling him to get a grip, knowing her. Darcy appeared in front of him after a few dizzying seconds, eyes wide and full of regret. He knew he couldn’t blame her. He knew he couldn’t justify being angry with her.

The dark haired demigod stilled for a moment. Was he angry? Absolutely. Just livid. But looking at the wide-eyed, white haired, puffy faced demigod in front of him now, chin trembling and fingers nervously twisting the ends of her shirt, Nico didn’t feel anything but concern for her. Concern and maybe a bit of brotherly protection, kind of how he felt with Hazel. A dark sort of understanding of the other.

No, he wasn’t currently shaking with rage aimed at the daughter of Lyssa who 1) couldn’t have known it was a trap, despite what she seemed to believe, and 2) had the unfortunate pleasure of being paired with Olympus’ most rash, unpredictable, absolutely irresponsible, _idiota_...

Nico was frothing in _outrage_ and the only one responsible for that was lucky enough to have been _kidnapped, that complete and utter--_

Lou Ellen wisely put two hands on Darcy’s shoulders and tugged her slowly out of Nico’s view when the shadowy flames started coiling around his ankles.

Nico’s brown eyes flashed black. “I’m gonna kill him,” Darcy squeaked, Lou Ellen calmly shushed her. “And he _knows it_.”

Lou Ellen regarded him thoughtfully before giving a stiff nod. She was gonna kill him too. Darcy kept looking between the two others with a look of disbelief, and a vague sense of fear.

The flames smothered themselves as Nico calmed his frayed nerves, managing to take deep breaths to keep from going ghost.

“I’m gonna kill him,” He repeated, calmer this time. Lou Ellen mumbled her agreement, and poor Darcy wore the face of a girl who just told the ghost king that his boyfriend had been kidnapped, surprisingly condemning said boyfriend to an even worse fate.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whup run will run


	30. It Pours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> flooding  
> every step another puddle   
> icing the edges of the curtains as it rises  
> poking holes in the walls in hopes it will drain  
> using them instead for air

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI sorry sorry sorry i fell asleep and just woke up bc daylight savings time has thrown me even more off schedule

“Oh, of course, he’s dead isn’t he? I _told_ her I wasn’t meant for a ‘gentle kidnapping’ but does she listen to me? Of _course not!_ ”

_Ugh… ugh, gods.._ Will’s stomach was _killing_ _him_. He groaned with the ache of it, wondering if it was something he ate-- that is, until he remembered it’d been awhile since he’d last eaten _anything._ Then his stomach growled, apparently remembering as well..

“Relax, stay calm, no reason to panic..” Continued the voice, chittering to themself in a confused and frightened sort of way. “Just relay the message and send him back to the girl, I can do that, yes yes…”

Ignoring the shrill and panicky voice for a second, Will grunted, fighting off the burning feeling which kept his eyes closed and wondering why his head felt so heavy. An attempt at lifting it only felt like sharp stones being jabbed into his temples. The boy groaned again.

There was a repetitive slapping sound, like barefeet against cold stone, like someone was here with him and was pacing up a storm. Also, it was kind of chilly, but that was just an afterthought.

A calm voice said, “Cease your infernal pacing, sister, we’ve done as she’s asked, we’ve taken the Apollo’s son.”

The second voice was lower and more even than the first had been, and sounded farther away. The second speaker yawned, and the sound of them placing their feet on the ground and standing gave Will a sinking feeling.

_Two of them..._

Sure, he told Darcy he’d be alright, but he didn’t actually _know that,_ besides, he couldn’t even open his eyes let alone jump to his feet and start swinging if things got hairy. He didn’t even know where he was for Zeus sake.

“You haven’t aided to him, sister.” Chided the second voice. The first voice growled, though to Will it sounded more like a pomeranian trying to act tough.

“I know that!” They snapped, their steps slapping and drawing nearer to where Will lay in a huddled heap on the floor. He froze when she was near, holding his breath. A shivery hand pressed against his forehead, and the owner mumbled something under their breath.

It shot through Will like freezing sparks and collected in his chest, shivering and trembling there. His eyes snapped open and he flew to his feet, staggering and battling for control over whatever was racing through his veins. He backed into a wall, eyes darting all around.

He was.. in a cave. Or something. It was definitely dark enough, with cracks in the blue-ish stone above leaking both sunlight and what Will was going to assume was water. Not that he was about to put his mouth to it and drink the stuff, but for the sake of having all our bases covered, let’s call it water.

Thankfully, the uncomfortable sloshing in his stomach ebbed away, as well as the heaviness of his head. In fact, he felt more light headed than usual, the world a paling shade of blue-ish grey...

“Rest easy, Apollo’s son,” the second voice belonged to a blurry image of white and blue, which, once Will’s vision complied, he found to be a humanoid creature with impressive leathery wings pressed against his back. He was very soothing in both voice and appearance. “I mean you no harm.. though as for _her-_ -”

“I also mean you no harm!” Barked the other humanoid. She had hair to her ankles, though it was thin and brittle and seemed to fall off with every turn of her skeletal-like head. Both creatures had wide and hollow eyes the color of the palest rose, and skin so grey that their veins nearly shone like beacons off of their arms.

They watched Will, the female with a look of determination and the male looking amused with every second. Neither blinked.

“Um--”

“We have a message you mus--” The female was cut off by the male’s harsh hushing. He took a few strides toward the demigod, claw like hands held out to the side in a non-threatening gesture, though his wings also opened up and expanded over him like a looming cloud of death, so Will wasn’t really comforted.

“We are Mania,” He announced, like a theatrical narrator of a play. “Faithful and just servants of our Goddess, the astounding and beautiful Lyssa.”

His sister snorted, smacking a hand over her mouth and biting back giggles. Her brother shot her a flashing look, still smiling, his endless rows of fangs twinkling in whatever little light was around.

“My name,” continued the male, “is D'Elormie. Isn’t it just _graceful_ , it’s so _smooth_ and _beautiful_..” D’Elormie spun in a small circle, casting a faux shy glance Will’s way. “Do you like it? I came up with it myself--”

“No you didn’t,” frowned the female, crossing her pale arms over her chest, her own wings rippling in frustration. “You stole that name from a human woman’s dead fiance.”

D'Elormie dismissed the interruption and gestured to Will, smiling a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Well he sure doesn’t need it anymore.”

“And your name?” He prodded, silky voice sharpened to an edge.

Will pinked. “Um--”

“Don’t answer that,” sighed the female. “He’ll probably insult it.” She flicked her brother’s face with one of her leathery wings, snickering.

Will drew in a breath, slightly trembling. “So what did you do to me?” His voice sounded panicky and uneven, like Nico’s when he tries to change the subject after a particularly teasing conversation.

“Hm? Oh, to let you move and see us?” The female nodded seriously at him, D'Elormie rolling his light pink eyes behind her, as if he should already know the answer.

“Only the truly mad can see us, all I did was shoot you with some adrenaline and a little pinch of histeria to give you enough sight and control ever your movements.” She giggled. “Otherwise you’d be yelling and racing around in circles,” After a moment's hesitation, she added, “Or crying in a heap.”

Ah. Madness. Of course. It explained Will’s deafening heartbeat whooshing in his ears and the urge to scream at the top of his lungs and the burning in his calves telling him to run as fast as he could out of there. _Madness… Is this what Darcy feels?_ It had a sense of… freedom to it. It wasn’t pure fear, and it wasn’t pure excitement, but it was something caught in between the two and ramped up times a thousand. It was _exhilarating_ and _terrifying_. He felt like he could fly, but falling to his death somehow also sounded appealing.

“You can call me Annabel Lee,” said Annabel Lee, with a sheepish grin, fluttering her wings shyly. “I met a human once, he was awfully tragic, and he told me the story of how--”

D’Elormie scoffed. “And your name is _horrific_. You stole it from that human’s dead lover.”

Annabel Lee’s face burned bright crimson at the accusation.

“I-I-I didn’t _steal_ it! I was inspired by his tale and moved by his words!”

“This is just like the time you met that playwright and took one of his character’s name right out from under his feet!”

“O-Ophelia is a n-ni-nice name! And I was an understudy in that play, on _opening night_ , and after he died I didn’t think he’d _miss_ it.”

“ _Understudy!_ ” D’Elormie’s entire body shook with laughter. He wiped invisible tears from his glittering eyes, jabbing a thumb toward Annabel Lee’s flustered form. “She never even _went on!_ ”

Annabel Lee crossed her arms, muttering. “Inspiration is not theft, you taking that dead fiance’s name and proclaiming it to be originally yours is theft. Thief.”

Will wished Lou Ellen were with him, she’d have loved these two. _Mania,_ Will was struggling with focusing, his thoughts felt like frightened fish as they darted and squirmed around in his head. _Servants of Lyssa…_ So, Darcy’s mother, then? Information like that would put any sane demigod on edge. Keyword in that bit being ‘sane.’ Will Solace, currently having a small taste of Madness, was the slight exception, so it appeared. He found the idea fascinating.

Instead of shouts of terror and confusion, what came out of Will’s mouth was, “So you’ve met Darcy?” (He said it a little louder than he normally would’ve, causing both creatures to slightly jump at the sudden question.)

D’Elormie cringed at the mention of her, but Annabel Lee perked up with brightened eyes. “Oh, no,” she said somewhat sadly. “We’ve never officially ‘met.’ I used to watch her, though, when her brother was alive.”

“Watch her?”

The Mania nodded. “They were sweet children, and at my Goddess’ request, I kept an eye out for them when they’re abilities began to emerge.” She smiled to herself, remembering. “Dillon never bested her, not once.”

“Ugh. _Darcy_.” D’Elormie rolled his eyes. “What kind of a name is that? ‘Descendent of the dark one?’ Ya think?”

“Please, the father named them, I doubt he knew.”

D’Elormie’s voice lowered. “And _Dillon?_ ”

Annabel Lee tutted softly. “Yes... that was unfortunately.. ironic.”

“Not that that man knew much to begin with anyway,” D’Elormie continued, ignoring his sister’s piercing glare. “Always an odd one, never said much until he said it all at once. Like he was swallowing his words every day until all of a sudden he’d just vomit them out, and always an odd tale or story that never had much to do with anything.”

“So he was a tad eccentric, he wasn’t a bad--”

Will: “Wait. Their _father_ named them? Are you sure?” Both creatures exchanged a confused look before nodding.

Will could still hear Darcy’s voice in his head, _“Uncle said he suddenly went mad one day and walked into the middle of the lake and just never came back up.”_

“Darcy said their father had died,” said the son of Apollo, speaking slowly. “Before they were born.” Annabel Lee shook her head strongly.

“Nooo, that’s impossible, I remember it like it was five minutes ago.” She suddenly tensed and looked quickly to her brother. “It wasn’t, was it?” She asked in a panicked whisper. He shook his head and she relaxed, breathing out a sigh.

 

“Anyway, he was there when those two were born,” The Mania stood next to Will and waved her hand in front of them, causing the world as Will knew it to ripple and change. The cave walls turned stark white, everything took on the sharp scent of clean, and there was a bed in front of them, a woman doused in sweat and sleeping.

They were in a hospital.

Will opened his mouth to speak, but Annabel Lee gently shushed him, gesturing to the two appearing figures by the woman’s bedside. One was a stout man, greying beard and tattered coat, with a turned down nose and a permanent scowl. The other was younger, light colored hair and freckled skin, slightly taller than the first man and smiling. _Brothers…_ Will thought. _They have the same eyes.._

The door to Annabel Lee’s left swung open, and in strode a nurse with a large bundle in her arms. She wore no smile when she asked which man was the father, (Annabel Lee translated, as Will had no understanding of the Irish language.) and promptly dumped her burden into the younger man’s arms, spinning on a heel and leaving the room rather quickly.

Only one of the children was crying. The other stared wide eyed at the man, face blank except for the glint of curiosity in their eyes.

“So?” Prompted the older man, the uncle. “Do you already have names for the runts or must we wait until she wakes?” He flicked his fingers in the direction of the dark haired woman. Annabel Lee growled.

“Lyssa,” she muttered to Will. “She decided to take on a mortal form in order to birth her children, though we begged her not to.”

The woman’s breathing was shallow, and she was clammy and restless, but Will could still sense her life. It was strong, even for an ailing Goddess.

Annabel Lee made a sad sound.

“We think she wanted the birth to kill her. But of course it didn’t..”

“Why would she--” But he was silenced again, this time by the father of the children as he cooed and fawned over the siblings.

“She said.. she will be leaving..” He said softly, glancing at his brother who only watched him blankly. “Once the children were born.. she said she was going to leave..”

“Good.” The older brother nodded. “She’s a bad omen, you know this.”

The light haired man shook his head, but said nothing more of it, turning his attention back to his babies.

“Dillon will be the boy,” he pressed his nose to the wailing child’s forehead, where he immediately stopped his crying to run a small hand over his father’s eyes. The man laughed.

His brother huffed impatiently. “And the girl? Has she a name, or will she take hers?” He asked with another wave to Lyssa.

“Darcy.”

The shorter man blanched. “Surely you are kidding.”

“Her name is Darcy.” The infant girl watched the two in wonderment, but made no sound. Her uncle grumbled low, shaking his head with a small sigh. “First you fall for a bad omen, and then you father one.”

Darcy’s father ignored him, watching the girl with wide caramel eyes as she stared back at him with squinted eyes, as if trying to determine if the man who held her was a threat. He made a silly face at her, and her stony resolve broke free a small grin and babbling noise.

Beside him, Annabel Lee sighed fondly. “He was a wonderful man..”

Somewhere, unseen, Will heard D’Elormie chuckle spitefully. He shimmered into view, dragging his hand across the air and reducing the scene to a muddled watercolor painting.

“He was quite the disappearing act,” D’Elormie said as the world shifted again. This time it was blurry and unfocused, but Will could make out a small country home, the face of it overrun with vines and plants as they climbed toward the star-splattered night sky. There was a small fence, a peeling shade of grey, and a few splotches of wildflowers scattered throughout. It was light inside, and somehow he could sense the warmth of a fire.It was so comfortable looking, but Will found himself desperate to stay far away from it.

Annabel Lee placed a hand on his shoulder to keep him still, offering a sad gaze to the house.

At the front entrance stood Darcy’s uncle, cradling in his arms a fussy Dillon while Darcy stood unsteadily at his feet, a small fist gripping the fabric of his pants to keep her from falling.

Will felt his heart swell. “She’s so little... “

“She was only three and a half,” D’Elormie supplied. “It’s only natural she doesn’t remember this.”

Annabel Lee nodded. “Who would want to?”

“It’s been three years, and now you leave?”

He was speaking harshly to the man facing him with two suitcases at his sides. He looked sheepish, shy, like a child threatening to run away from home but having nowhere to run to.

“She…” he started softly. “She is out there, I know it, if I can just--”

“Just what!” Exploded his brother, causing the children to jump in fright. Dillon let out a whine, Darcy’s grip tightened, eyes wide. “Bring her back? You must accept it, accept that she has left you and be a father to your children!”

The blonde man opened his mouth to speak again, but was cut off by his brother once more.

“I will not accept that dark omen into my house! Not again!”

He reached for his suitcases, the uncle continuing his rant.

“I will not care for her spawn! I will dump them in an orphanage or let them live in the gutters if you leave.” There was a note in his voice, a small sort of plea. “I mean it, brother, I will let your children die.”

“No you won’t, Reuben.”  Said the man gently, smiling a sort of melancholic smile. “I will be returning.”

Reuben bit his lip, the child in his arms running curious fingers through his grey beard. “When? For how long will you look for her?” He asked, begging him to drop this fantasy and go back inside the house, where shadows danced in the windows as silhouettes of the burning fire in the fireplace.

His brother thought over this, finally nodding to himself. “Five years. I’ll return on their eighth birthday. I swear it.”

The scene wavered, and Will’s breath hitched. “Wait,” he reached out, as if he could stop the image from dissipating. It swirled into a mess of color, then faded into the blue-grey walls of the cave.

“Wait,” he said again. D’Elormie and Annabel Lee shared a sad glance. Will shook his head, disbelief awash on his face. That wasn’t right, was it?

“He.. never came back?”

Both Mania gave a curt nod; Annabel Lee with a somber look, D’Elormie expressionless.

“Did he.. find her? Did he find Lyssa?”

Annabel Lee’s wings twitched and D’Elormie cast his gaze away.

Will’s heart stuttered and he looked down. Of course he didn’t? If he had, none of this would have happened, right?

_Oh gods… Darcy.. Dillon…_

“I’m sorry, Apollo’s son,” apologized Annabel Lee, reaching out to give him a consoling pat on the arm but thinking better of it and pulling away. “We did not bring you here to live out such sad memories.”

  
Will bitterly laughed, and he wasn’t sure if it was an effect of the Madness or the scene of events he’d born witness to, or perhaps both. “And why did you bring me here?”

D’Elormie answered: “To give you a message. Or a warning, rather.”

Annabel Lee: “To give to.. Darcy and the rest of your demigod herd. We tried to do it earlier, but you were the only one who heard.. well, almost heard.”

Will paused. “But why did you bring _me_ here?” The female Mania nodded to herself, strands of dark, wiry hair fluttering to the ground with the movement. She blushed, “To be honest with you, we were planning on taking Hades’ son.”

A flare of fear bubbled up in him, but he forced it down with the reminder that he’d been taken instead. _If it’d been Nico…_

“Personally, I voted for the daughter of Hecate. She’s frightening in a likeable way,” mumbled D’Elormie. “Kind of like our Goddess…”

Annabel Lee continued, “But we were watching, the events that unfolded at our Goddess’ palace, and we worried the strain of shadow traveling and the Madness would prove to be too much for Hades’ son. We saw your light--”

“Sister dear, the message.”

“Yes!”

Annabel Lee snatched Will’s hands from where they hung at his sides and pulled them close to her, her face taking on a serious expression. Will gulped.

“The cat! ” She said sincerely. _What_. Cat? What cat? Had there ever been a cat?

Seeing his confusion, she looked to her brother. “Was that the wrong message?” He shook his head, looking more bored than he had when Will first arrived; it’d been the correct message.

“The cat,” Annabel Lee repeated, squeezing his fingers with her corpse-like hands. “The.. the cat.. w-was the beginning!” She licked her lips and swallowed, struggling to remember. “A-and.. don’t trust…” She looked to her brother again, exasperated.

“Who must they not trust?”

“I don’t recall. The cat?”

“No, no, the cat was the beginning, I’ve just said that.”

D’Elormie tapped his chin thoughtfully, though he clearly didn’t care. “Don’t trust.. don’t trust... “ He mumbled, mind elsewhere.

Will remembered the voice from before, back in the woods. “Geaway… Frura..”

Annabel Lee snapped her fingers-- claws?-- together. “Frura!” She repeated, eyes brightening. Then just as quickly she frowned, not understanding this new piece in her jumbled puzzle.

“Frura… frura… ur..ura…” She was muttering, eyes searching the air in front of her for answers, hands twitching.

“Close enough!” D’Elormie shouted stretching back his wings and sending them forward with a powerful thrust. A windstorm beginning to take shape at Will’s feet. He felt himself being lifted off the ground slowly, Annabel Lee in front of him still trying to decode the message with wild eyes.

“Ura.. ur..a… Era? Ere?..”

The wind picked up, cool as ice and yet somehow softer than it’d been before. It began to envelop him, the feeling of Madness slowly being ebbed away, exhaustion taking its place. He felt his eyelids droop with a sudden weight, and his consciousness slowly stream away with with swirling wind.

_But the message…_ He tried fighting, only succeeding in tiring himself further, his eyes fluttering closed against his will. The soft and cold wind blanketed him, blurring his vision and settling the familiar ache in the pit of his stomach. For a brief instant, Will felt like he was dying, and he thought of Nico.

 _Idiota_ , he said. Such comforting words.

Upon remembering that death was actually not upon him, Will once more attempted to open his eyes and speak, less than pleased when he couldn’t.

He could hear Annabel Lee shouting something, she must have figured it out. He couldn’t hear her words anymore, as sound and color seemed to spill together until Will was floating in nothing, a dream in the middle of nowhere.. and he heard his name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3 the best chapter ever is after this one it's tooth-rotting i promise~  
> soupella.tumblr.com


	31. Windblown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the first hints of a storm  
> from tousling hair to uprooting trees and scattering the branches  
> flushed cheeks and headaches behind the eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what even are these titles anymore

Nico shifted Will’s limp body on his back, grumbling and causing shadowy sparks to flicker with each step he took, igniting a few already dead leaves and twigs. Each sudden flare up caused Darcy to jump in surprise, which prompted Lou Ellen to bark: “Cool it, di Angelo!” and pat the daughter of Lyssa’s shoulder consolingly. Darcy’d mumble an apology-- again-- and Nico would take another fiery step. This domino effect had been looping for what felt like hours.

They’d been discussing how to properly kill Solace for getting himself kidnapped when they found him. Lou Ellen tripped over his legs, which were amusingly poking out of a thicket as if he’d been drunk and taken a tumble. Together, her and Nico yanked him out by the ankles, and Nico started in on the rant he’d been rehearsing when he realized that the son of Apollo was out cold, leaves and drool stuck to his face. _Gods I hate you, you’re so_ cute _. Curse you._

“Should we really be moving him?” Darcy asked, Lou Ellen already helping Nico piggyback the unconscious demigod.

“Who cares.” Nico said blankly. _He better hope he stays unconscious until we find Erecura_. Darcy only nodded. She seemed relieved that Will turned up, but said nothing, awkwardly positioning herself away from Nico, Lou Ellen walking between them.

_Honestly it wasn’t her fault._ He drew in a deep breath and let it out in an airy sigh, a breeze picking up from behind him. _I’m not saying I would’ve let him go, but I don’t blame her for it…_

On his back, Solace shivered, nuzzling his head into the crook of Nico’s neck. He grinned. A little. Shut up.

Alright fine, he was relieved. He was still incredibly angry at him for going off on a whim and risking his life on a _feeling_ , but he came out okay, and Nico would be lying if he said he didn’t care. Because what if he hadn’t? What if they never found him in that bush, looking every bit the hungover hiker? Or, worse yet, what if they did find him, but he was injured… or what if he was--

_But he wasn’t,_ Nico reminded himself, feeling the blonde’s soft, warm breaths as he slept tickle his neck and (red) cheek. _And he isn’t. He’s an idiot, and sometimes I wonder why I fell for him in the first place, but… I don’t know what I’d do without him…_

Lou Ellen slid over, nudging her shoulder with Nico’s, smirking. “Lookin’ pretty red there, Neeks. What, are you thinking about something _naughty?_ ” She giggled.

“Wh-what! No! _Gods--_ ”

“Ohoho?” She poked and pinched at his cheeks. “Then what _are_ you thinking about, perv?”

“I’m not a perv!” He glared at her, but she only laughed. After calming down some, she nudged him again, gentler this time.

“C’mon, Ghost King, spill. It’s not good to keep it all in, y’know.”

Nico swallowed, cheeks fading a shade of pink. “I was just…” He glanced to the daughter of Hecate, finding her round eyes wide and looking far too happy.

“Nevermind, forget it.”

“Nooooo!” She whined, tugging on his arm. “C’mon, c’mon we won’t laugh. Right Darcy? We won’t laugh, right?”

Darcy blushed herself, but nodded. “Y-Yes, I won’t laugh.”

“We _promise_ ,” she urged. Darcy nodded again, “P-Promise.”

Nico looked between the two; Lou Ellen looking startlingly earnest for once, and Darcy trying to dispel the awkwardness that had come between them with a small grin. He huffed out another sigh. _Better not,_ he warned them with a stare. The girls nodded seriously. _We won’t, we won’t._

“I was… thinking about.. Will--”

“ _Knew it!_ Perv!”

“Not like that! Shut up!” He bit his lip. “But what if... “ He paused again.

Lou Ellen gestured for him to keep going, smiling sincerely.

“What if.. I n-never.. stayed in the infirmary?”

“How do you mean?”

“What if-- I don’t know, what if something happened during the battle with Gaea? What if I died instead of…” _Octavian_. “Or what if something happened to Will? Both of us?--”

A sharp pair of slaps caught him off guard and he squeaked, Lou Ellen in front of him with her hands on his cheeks. Darcy stopped walking, making a small gasping sound, and on his back Will sniffed.

The Mist-bender stared him down hard, and Nico gulped under her gaze. Her resolve broke with a genuine and small smile.

“Is this what you’re all caught up in your head about?” She asked lightly. He blushed. “I can personally guarantee if you never went to the infirmary, he would have gone looking for you. I’ve never met a more infuriatingly determined demigod in my _life_.

“If you…” She cast her eyes away momentarily, uncomfortable. “..died, it would have… it would’ve broken him, Nico. You can’t always see how he looks at you, but he’s… gods Nico, he’s so hopeless.” Lou Ellen brushed a thumb under his eye, and something twinged in his chest-- a memory of a memory, and he couldn’t quite place it.

He couldn’t help himself. “..R-Really?” His voice was so small, he felt so fragile. He felt like he was ten again.. Lou Ellen rolled her eyes.

“Yes, dummy.”

“Me too,” he stammered, quickly turning red again. Nico cleared his throat awkwardly, looking away. “I-I mean.. I’m hope-hopeless, too..”

“Uh huh, I’ve noticed that too.” She smiled wide at him, Darcy hiding her own grin behind her hand as they started walking again.

_Gods, I am hopeless aren’t I?_ The feeling was so light but so warm and it made skeletal butterflies brush their wings against his rib cage. He remembered lying on that infirmary bed with the sheets pulled over his head, when the feeling was still new and strange and confusing. He remembered waking up after passing out from Darcy’s episode to Will sleeping soundly with his head on the end of his bed, his warm hand clasped around Nico’s cold one.

_“You.. you know there are people who c-care about you right?”_

He chuckled to himself. _Yea, me for example._ Nico adjusted Will’s arms, keeping them from slipping off his shoulders. _Not that I’d ever tell_ you _that._

Nico thought back to his first night back in his own cabin, the nightmare that wrecked him and how Will pulled him out of it so easily. He remembered waking up all curled together and warm, his nose in his hair, Will’s arms around him.

_“... Nico, are you smelling me?”_

_Maybe I was, Solace._ He smelled like sunshine and something smoky. _I’m hopeless,_ he thought. _So hopeless.._

“..D’ya mean it?”

Nico’s blood ran cold and he stiffened. _Wh-what, how-- oh dear_ Zeus-- Will lifted his head, a stupid sleepy grin plastered on to his stupid perfect face. He still had leaf bits in his hair, that _idiot_ , and his bedhead was superb. And with his eyes half-lidded and glassy like that, Nico wanted to just kiss the hell out of him and his _stupid, stupid, stupid--_

Will nosed behind his ear, giggling like a child. “Sorry,” he yawned. “Did I scare you?”

A string of Italian curses flittered through Nico’s mind. “..W-Will..”

“You’re hopeless,” sighed the blonde, wrapping his arms around Nico’s neck and nuzzling his head on his shoulder again. “You loooove me~ Soooo much~”

“Sh-Shut up!” _How much did he hear?!_

“It’s true.. though,” Will whispered tiredly in his ear, causing the son of Hades to shiver. “I’m hopeless, too.” Very softly, he mumbled, “Soooo much..” as his eyes started closing again. Nico flushed, ignoring the giggles coming from Lou Ellen who, of course, watched that scene unfold with an unapologetic smirk.

 

Will lifted his head again to press a small kiss to Nico’s head. He fell down again, but hugged him tighter. “Don’t.. don’t go, okay?”

Nico found himself smiling. “Mmhmm. Okay.”

\---

Gods, Nico was so _warm…_ Will struggled in a half-conscious state, opening his heavy-lidded eyes every now and then to see a blur of green trees, Lou Ellen smiling at Darcy a few steps away. He could hear Nico talking, his voice rumbling against Will’s chest and thudding heartbeat. He drunkenly smiled.

_Nico loooooves me~_ he remembered, fuzzy headed. He’s hopeless, just like me…

It was difficult to express how comforting those words were. Will suddenly wondered if this is what Nico felt, back in the hallways of Lyssa’s palace. This sweet feeling of relief, this fluffy warmth that seemed to spread from his chest to his head.

_“When I asked you if you loved me, I thought you’d say no.”_

_Why would I say no..?_ Will thought. Then again, he often caught himself wondering why Nico said yes. _Is this what love is like? That’s exhausting._

The blonde demigod stifled a yawn, slowly easing his way back to sleep, lulled by Nico’s voice and Nico’s warmth and Nico’s… Nico…

-

Will woke up later to the sound of Nico laughing. It was such a nice sound, his little snort at the end made his heart swell and his cheeks heat up. Lou Ellen apparently regaled the group with a story, probably one of Will’s failed escapades, or the one about the Stolls organizing a Sasquatch hunt and getting chased out of the woods by angry nymphs and satyrs. He remembered having to treat them for hoof print shaped bruises and an unfortunate mix of curses that left their hair green and smelling of lake water.

He didn’t mean to, but must’ve mumbled something incoherent in his half-sleep state, as Nico’s head turned.

“What?” Or, Will assumed he said that, all he actually heard was “Wah?” But Will was already gone again.

-

The third time Will woke up, he was sweaty and cold. Lou Ellen had her hands pressed against his cheek and forehead, talking to Nico in a voice he only heard her use on him. Blearily, he tried to lift his head, but it fell back down again. Just as quickly, Will was gone once more.

-

They were fighting, not yelling but hissing at each other. Nico kept taking steps back from Lou Ellen, who had her arms crossed and eyes narrowed. Will tried to focus his eyes, seeing Darcy give him a comforting look. She said something, petted his arm, bit her lip, and looked away. _Wha..t’s… wro..ng…?_ His voice didn’t work, and he fell out of the world for the fourth time.

-

“...We ha… o stop...he’s ge..ting wor..se.”

“Wh-hat ab..t Ere...a? Sh…...help.”

“Will? Wi… can… ou hea… me?”

Y..yes..

“Will?”

_I… ca… Nico..?_

“Put hi…. dow… Darc… get me so...wa..er.”

“Okay!”

“Hey… un..shine, it’s...gon..be oka..”

\---

“...llo? Son of Apollo, can you hear me?”

“Mmbf..” Will tried to open his eyes, fighting the force of gravity that held them down.

“Don’t open your eyes!” Shrieked the familiar voice. “I cannot stay for very long, my brother already did not approve of this, but you have to know!”

“Know..” He mumbled. Gods his head felt like wet cotton and lead at the same time. “Know… what? Anna.. Annabel Lee…” His chest constricted, and he got the dream like sensation that he was falling through the air.

Annabel Lee’s hand caressed his cheek gently, taking care not to cut him with her sharp talons. “Oh, dear, the Madness is taking its time wearing off, isn’t it?” Her fingers were cold. Everything was cold. Will’s face scrunched and he pulled away, looking for warmth. The mania blew out a sigh but muttered to herself.

“I suppose it’s to be expected, we _did_ keep you for quite long…”

His throat was hoarse. “Annabel…”

“Yes!” She snapped. “The message! I’ve remembered it, Apollo’s son!” There was the sound of her softly celebrating before she cleared her throat.

“To begin,” she began. “The cat.”

“C..ca…” Will forgot what he was saying half way through saying it. Gods he was sleepy.. He could take a nap now, couldn’t he?

“Yes. The cat was only the beginning. Do you understand?”

He shook his head, feeling something tighten in the back of his throat. The demigod wanted to vomit, but swallowed meekly instead.

His mouth was dry. “Am I.. dreaming?”

He heard a grunt of affirmation. “Yes, Apollo’s son, you are asleep. I am speaking to you through the Madness! D’Elormie warned me not to, said you’d explode or something, but you didn’t! Ha!”

_Didn’t explode.._ Will mentally nodded. _Good_.

Annabel Lee continued, “I remembered the message! Apollo’s son, are you listening?  The cat--”

“The cat, yea..” Will mumbled, getting the sensation that he was falling, but caught himself somehow.

“Right! The cat was the beginning. Don’t trust ----” There was a sharp ring in the place of a name, and Will flinched at the sudden sound.

“Did you hear me? Don’t trust --c--ra!”

 _Who.. who don’t I trust…_ The blonde opened his mouth to ask, but the words came out as tired whimpers.

Annabel Lee’s cold hand smacked him lightly on his face. “Pay attention! Apollo’s son, you must tell the others! You cannot trust her, she’s a bad omen! Warn your fleet!”

“Mmhm..” Will’s eyes moved behind his eyelids as he tried to focus. It was haaaard. “Can’t.. tru...st… who?”

The mania said it again. And again. And again and again and again, her voice nothing but ringing to Will’s ears. This was getting ridiculous, and Will forced his eyes open just a crack to say so, but softly gasped instead. _Where.._ He remembered being on Nico’s back, feeling the rumbling of his chest whenever he spoke, nuzzling his head into the crook of his neck… but he wasn’t there. He was surrounded by black, just black, and Will suddenly felt very, very cold.

His breath hitched in his throat and it turned to ice, choking him. His skin grew pale, Annabel Lee appeared, a hazy, fuzzy image of the real her, and she reached out and gently touched his hair.

“Foolish demigod, you’ve opened your eyes!” She chided, her voice somehow soft and hard at the same time.

“Wh-where-where..?” He was shivering terribly. The demigod hastily looked down, relieved that he was still wearing clothes. The mania glanced around as if she was seeing her surroundings for the first time.

“Well,” she mused. “Nowhere, I guess.”

 _I’m getting real tired of being Nowhere._ Will growled to himself, trembling in the cold. Annabel Lee smiled sheepishly at him, putting an icy hand over his eyes, snapping at him when he tried to move away.

“Don’t! If you just go back to sleep, you can get back.”

“Is this Madness?”

“No, this is Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“A concept, really, the space just in between Chaos and Madness that everyone experiences in times of stress.” Annabel Lee said hurriedly, removing her hand once Will’s eyes had closed. “Warmer already,” she commented. It was true, after closing his eyes, Will felt that warmth again and he latched on instantly.

“What do you mean by ‘stress’?” He asked, the chittering of his teeth fading with the cold.

“Have you ever been sad and angry and confused and hurt all at once?” She asked, not unkindly but rather bluntly for such a heavy question. Will hesitated in his answer, but Annabel Lee carried on anyway.

“Of course you have, everyone has. Nowhere is that place you go-- the-you-that-isn’t-you.”

The demigod parroted, “There’s a me that isn’t me?”

The mania huffed, getting frustrated. “Yes the- you-that-isn’t-you comes to Nowhere.” Will found himself nodding, despite still being confused on the subject.

“Then, what’s Nothing?”

“Nothing is the feeling you get when coming to Nowhere,” her voice softened. “It’s.. difficult to explain, and I’m sorry, D’Elormie can explain it better than I can. But.. there are times when the-you-that-isn’t-you doesn’t..” She whispered gravely, “ _Return_.”

Will felt a twinge somewhere in his chest and he winced, suddenly feeling Annabel Lee’s hands on his cheeks. He had the notion that he was being examined, and it was confirmed when Annabel Lee moved away and whispered, “I see.” There was the sound of her squeaking and muttering to herself, and then a clap.

“I suppose I won’t pry into your private affairs. For now. In any case, you have to go back, tell your friends! ‘The cat was the beginning! Don’t trust ------!’”

“I-I can’t hear the _name_ , who is it!”

The mania mightily shoved the demigod backward, and he was suddenly encased in warmth again. With just the echoes of her voice, he heard her shrill reply,

**  
** _“Erecura!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohohohoho? ohohohohohohohohoho? also, hey me, whatever happened to those pearls do you remember writing that oooorrrr? 
> 
> ~~<3~~


	32. The Storm Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the orchestra has gathered  
> the baton is raised and dropped fluidly  
> the show begins   
> the audience flees

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *aggressively humming the Pirates of the Caribbean theme*

Hae-Won fell back against her bunk at the Apollo Cabin, huffing out a sharp sigh. She listened to the soft snoring of her siblings for awhile before sitting back up. Dustin was back in the infirmary, despite it being late, finishing up the treatment of Clef and a few other campers. They were fine, just shaken up about something they saw, but Hae-Won found herself nibbling on her lower lip in thought.

That thing that was in the forest had no form. It was a massless, smoky, inky being, and trees withered as it passed, which is what alerted the nymphs into telling the few campers who were in the forest. When Hae-Won arrived, Travis Stoll was brandishing a bow and arrow-- wrongly, she might add-- at a terrified child of Demeter and a pair of satyrs. He must’ve grabbed the closest weapon available, and seeing that the archery range wasn’t that far away..  

“Travis!” She called to him, and he jumped, spinning quickly with the bow still raised. The daughter of Apollo swiftly lifted her hands, nodding to Dustin to do the same.

“Hey,” she said softly. The son of Hermes flinched, as if she’d screamed it. His eyes were darting between the two of them, and the daughter of Apollo had to guess his heart rate was upwards of 100 beats per minute. His grip tightened, and although she knew that if he fired the bow wouldn’t hit them, she kept a safe distance. She made eye contact with the child of Demeter and flicked her head toward camp; they scattered, satyrs in tow.

“Travis,” her voice was steady, calm. “Travis, it’s me. It’s me, Hae-Won? From the infirmary?” He swallowed thickly, nodding once. He knew her. They met once, he had a terrible nightmare when he was recovering after a broken leg and Hae-Won… they talked.

Hae-Won gestured slowly to Dustin, who was frozen in fear but wearing a brave face. “And this is my brother, Dustin. He’s okay, you haven’t met him, but he’s good.”

The demigod was clearly shaken when the Apollo pair managed to calm him down, Dustin gently easing the weapon from his grasp while Hae-Won kept her eyes on his, murmuring soothing words. Travis cracked a little, and to Hae-Won, he reminded her of a terrified child. She was used to comforting young Apollo kids, but she knew how useless she was to the older campers. Her smile was forced and crooked, her movements almost robotic, and sometimes she would stop listening to them in the middle of a conversation. She was the worst.

They took him to the infirmary, and now he laid in one of the bunks next to a snoring Clef. Travis wasn’t the only one who wigged out in the forest since that thing’s arrival. Another Apollo girl, younger than Hae-Won by a year or two, staggered into the infirmary with the shaking form of an Ares boy. Someone else brought in a pair of twins, both clutching the other and whispering feverishly. Every new patient brought in was scared out of their minds of _something_ but gods knew Hae-Won had no idea.

She placed her glasses on the side table and flung an arm over her eyes. What time was it? Late, surely. She sent Dustin to bed three or so hours ago while she struggled to treat those campers. But they all clammed up, refusing to talk about it. Hae-Won bit her lip. _Will would be so much better at this… He’d know what to do._

_But Will isn’t here,_ snapped a part of Hae-Won’s brain. _So you’re going to have to figure it out._ She cursed softly, hearing the snores and deep breathing of her siblings in the bunks around her. Luckily, there hadn’t been any Apollo kids brought in, so she had the staff, she just needed the treatment to supply them with.

As Hae-Won cursed and grumbled, a small daughter of Apollo tip-toed over to her bunk, eyes wide and fingers nervously tugging at the ends of her nightshirt. She didn’t notice until she sniffed, and though she couldn’t see her face in the dark, she knew what she wanted. Hae-Won huffed at her once, but the girl didn’t go away.

“Lily--” she started in on her speech about how ‘I don’t exactly know if this is true, but everything’s going to be juuuust fine!’, but Lily crashed onto Hae-Won’s bunk before she could start, burrowing her way under her older sister’s covers and curling up.

“...Is Will coming back?” asked her small voice. Hae-Won grumbled but put a small hand on the girl’s head. Was this.. comforting?

“Of course he is. Him and Darcy and Nico and Lou Ellen-- all of them. You’ll see.” It hurt how much it sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

\---

Nico was spinning the skull ring on his finger. He bitterly laughed at it. How long had it been since he’d done this? Since his nerves were frayed enough to warrant this insufferable, laughable nervous tick of his? Not since… Helga’s Cabin? Before that, even?

To his left, Darcy paced vigilantly, chewing on her thumbnail with a horrified look in her eyes, her other hand nervously tugging on short strands of white hair. A few paces away from her, Lou Ellen was sitting, propped up against a tree, catching a few winks of sleep before they moved again. Nico was cross legged in front of Will, who was stretched out in the shade, sweating and breathing shallow and giving Nico grief.

They stopped maybe three hours ago. There was still some light, the sun taking its time as it set. Will had been acting strangely, like he was sick-- the bed ridden kind of sick, the kind that puts you down for days. He started mumbling in his sleep, his hands kept twitching, and he was sweating like it was the hottest day of the summer. Nico couldn’t catch all his words, but it sounded like he was talking to someone before he suddenly fell completely limp off Nico’s back and crashed onto the ground.

He cursed himself. He should’ve had a better grip on him…

Will’s eyes moved behind closed eyelids, his chest rising and falling rhythmically and steadily. Nico let out the breath he was holding. Maybe an hour ago he’d been struggling for air, clawing at the ground and wheezing. The demigods stood around him uselessly, and just as Lou Ellen reached to try CPR, Will took a deep breath and relaxed. A relieved and shuddery sigh shook the small group.

Nico had volunteered to take over and watch him in case it happened again, and had since been staring at his slumbering boyfriend, his voice in his throat and spinning his skull ring. He hesitantly leaned over to brush a few blades of grass out of Will’s hair, getting carried away and gingerly running his fingers through the curls. Will breathed out a small, contented sigh, and Nico jerked away, blushing.

_Wake up already.._ he threw the thought at Will, biting his lip and wondering if that would actually work. It didn’t. He sighed.

“Maybe try kissing him.” Lou Ellen rubbed her eyes sleepily, yawning and grinning like a cat at Nico. She winked. “Y’know, true love's kiss and all that.” Nico scowled half-heartedly at her, crossing his arms and pulling up his knees, resting his chin on them.

The bleary-eyed daughter of Hecate stumbled over, sitting on the opposite side of Will than Nico, struggling to hold in another yawn. “Sorry,” she murmured. He shook his head, it was fine. Just trying to dispel the tension, he guessed.

“One time,” she started. “Before you had come to camp yet, I fell off the tower playing capture the flag.” She snorted. “I landed on top of Will, who didn’t want to play because he had a dream about getting a broken bone. I broke his arm and fractured my ankle.” Lou Ellen giggled to herself, smiling. “He hated me for two weeks.”

Nico watched her, a tiny grin finding its way across his lips. He could see young Will, all huffed up, bottle blue eyes glaring down a tiny Lou Ellen with her own tiny glare from the safety of his infirmary bunk.

Lou Ellen shook her head suddenly, laughing. “So he stopped talking to me, like a brat. And it really upset me, y’know? So.. s-so one night.. a Cecil and I let loose an army of squirrels into the Apollo cabin, a-a-and..” she was shaking, holding her sides and trying to catch her breath, voice raising in pitch as she laughed. “An-and Will… oh gods, Will was _terrified!_ ” She wiped at her eyes, calming down finally. “That girl-- Hae-Won? She was new at the time but she had to get them all out by herself. Ahhhh… We held that over his head for _months_.”

Nico laughed, quietly at first but soon he was clutching his stomach, biting his lip and trying not to fall over. Lou Ellen joined him, and he distantly heard Darcy giggling along as well.

He caught his breath. “Wh-where.. where did you get so many squirrels?”

“Connor. Naturally.” She shrugged, smirking. “Of course, we had to bribe other campers to help catch them. I lost dessert for three weeks, but man was it worth it.”

The sun dipped below the horizon, taking away the light, but Lou Ellen made a small, containable fire (“I was a Girl Scout, thank you.”) and jumped into another side splitting Will story. Darcy made her way over, picking a spot next to Nico so she could watch Lou Ellen’s masterful storytelling technique. The three talked for hours, and thanks to the marshmallows stuffed in the bottom of Lou Ellen’s pack, (“Just in case we went camping!”) they soothed the growling emptiness of their stomachs. They settled in for a quick nap, Nico laying next to Will with Darcy on his other side and Lou Ellen next to her. Will’s breathing was even, thankfully, and the sound of it lulled Nico into a cottony sort of sleep; where he wondered if the warm, sleepy kiss pressed to his cheek had been real or just a dream.

\--

Darcy was tired.

The stars had just begun to twinkle into view overhead, but with the moon new they were the only light she had. To her left, Lou Ellen snored lightly and curled even tighter around her backpack, hugging it to her chest with a deep sigh. Will lay on her right, turned on his side and holding the sleeping form of Nico di Angelo, who had his face burrowed in the blonde’s chest and a ridiculous grin on his face. Darcy was in the middle, an armslength away from either of them, and eyes, though hooded, open and blinking at the night sky.

She bit her lip.

Will had woken up earlier, just suddenly sat up with a wild look and scared the heavens out of Darcy, who’d just started to stargaze.

He breathed deep for a moment and put a hand to his head, as if steadying himself.

“Sorry,” he whispered, voice ragged. “What happened?”

Darcy rubbed the back of her neck as she tried to form a good enough answer to the question.

“You were acting strangely, so we stopped to rest for awhile. You’ve been out for at least six hours, I think.” She whispered back, rubbing her eyes with a yawn.

The son of Apollo flashed a look of guilt. “Ah, sorry, did I wake you?”

Darcy shook her head and waved a hand dismissively.

Nico sighed in his sleep and rolled over to face Will, hand almost reaching toward him. There was something almost calming about how the son of Hades looked when he slept, with his face relaxed and his hair in his eyes. Darcy, who usually could feel the coiled up darkness within him, found herself pleased that his presence started to fade. Will glanced down at the sleeping boy and grinned.

“Did he lose the ponytail?” He asked with a chuckle, pushing the strands out of his face. They revealed his closed and relaxed eyes before sliding down from his forehead again, a dark curtain. Darcy hummed. “No, Lou Ellen pulled it out before he fell asleep. He was the first one out.” She shrugged. “I don’t blame him, he’s probably exhausted.”

Will turned his head to her, eyes still glassy from sleep.

“And aren’t you tired too?”

She gave him a noncommittal shrug and left the question more or less unanswered, stretching her arms behind her back. They sat in silence for a long while; Darcy staring at the sky, Will playing with his boyfriend’s hair while he slept. She watched him after a minute, smiling to herself. She liked them. Apart or together, they were just _good_. Though, she found it hard to imagine Will somewhere where Nico wasn’t. If she ever saw Will walking somewhere, she’d surely expect Nico to be trailing behind like a lovestruck puppy. They balanced each other out, it seemed, while each still providing and comforting the other. Like if the day met the night…

Darcy’s mind shifted suddenly, and she wondered if she’d ever have her own ‘Will.’ Personally, she felt more like a ‘Nico’, and they were kind of alike, right? Dark godly parent, trouble maintaining their demigod abilities, baa baa black sheep sort of stuff. She was kind of unlucky, wasn’t she? _If Nico could find his Will,_ she indulged herself in the thought, blushing a bit. _Maybe so could I?_

She wasn’t sure why, but Darcy found herself thinking about her brother’s eyes. They’d been green and beautiful, so full of light and energy when they were kids, and so full of exhaustion and questions as they grew older. In more ways than one, Dillon had been Darcy’s opposite in life. Though they both craved adventure as children, Dillon was always the one to swing from the rope across the stream, and Darcy was always on the other side with her small hands clenched to the ends of her dress, laughing at him but inching away from the risk.

_“Get down from there, you’ll fall!”_ Cried a young Darcy, to her brother high up in the tree in the yard. He’d suddenly got up from where they’d been building ladybug houses and made his way to the top.

 _“I’m not going to fall!”_ He cried back, eyes empty a moment ago but now filled with the light of the sun shining overhead. _“I can see the whole village from up here, Darce!”_ He breathed in, the air somehow tasting better from the tops of a tree.

Below, Darcy had twisted her shirt into knots with her tiny fists, her hazel eyes glimmering as she bit her lip, a habit she started too young to be rid of. She’d threaten to tell Uncle, but Dillon would laugh, a wild almost-howl and spread out his arms, letting the wind curl around him and comb through his hair.

He was reckless.

“..Darcy?”

“Hm?” Darcy blinked herself free from her memory, looking back at Will. He grinned at her, gesturing his hand to the sky.

“I was saying how amazing it is, the universe being so big. Doesn’t it make you feel so small?”

Both demigods turned their heads to the sky, the stars fully out now and blinking back at them silently, each observing the other. Darcy brightened, tilting her head with a smile.

“They’re only small from a distance,” she grinned.

“Do you ever wish on stars?”

“Wishes?” Darcy thought about it, but couldn’t say that she had. She shook her head, and Will smiled, adding to the glow of the night sky.

“It’s easy, you pick the brightest one you can find and close your eyes and make a wish.”

“Have they ever come true?”

The boy gave a half shrug, smirking though the light in his eyes faded. “Depends on the star, I guess.”

“Hmm..” The girl hummed. “I think stars are so much more than that…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woaaah so many pov's in this chapter  
> yeeaaa sorry i wasn't sure how to add all that in without switching it around so much 
> 
> in completely unrelated news i cut my hair and love it!
> 
> in vastly more related news i am now on thanksgiving break! so more writing SHOULD get done, which is great bc im currently writing the best thing ever that you're all gonna hate and it's gonna be a fun time are you ready


	33. A Torn Umbrella

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you tore your umbrella  
> and you're soaked to the bone  
> but no one has a spare  
> no one wants to share with you  
> you walk on  
> wet and alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY this is so much later than usual, i always have something going on on fridays i might move the update day to saturday?? who knows at this point right

Darcy had to be the one to shake Nico awake, because _gods_ the boy had been exhausted. He knew he’d been dreaming by the feeling of loss in his chest, but the dream had vanished from his memory before he could relive it. Blearily, he opened his eyes to see that he’d rolled over in the night, and was pressed next to Will’s chest, burrowing his nose into the other. He considered the embarrassment of it, but found himself relishing in the warmth and cuddling closer anyway, sighing contentedly. Lou Ellen had made over dramatic kissy sounds, Darcy blushed to her ears, but Nico let himself dip back into slumber with a soft snore.

Though of course, he was bribed awake by the prospect of breakfast a few moments later, and immediately abandoned the stirring son of Apollo when Lou Ellen dangled the granola bar in front of his nose.

“Niiiico…” whined Will, who had also been using the other for warmth. He wore a pathetic frown and made another whimpery whining sound, running his hands over his face and through his curls. Nico had thrown a granola bar at his head and laughed when it knocked the puppy eyes right out of him. He glared, a sleepy and adorable excuse of a mean look, and chewed on his breakfast with a defeated scowl.

Lou Ellen also passed around bottles of water and had, for whatever reason, a can of spaghettios tightly clenched in her fist. She was staring at it with a fond expression, until Darcy elbowed her in the side.

“I don’t think we have a can opener.” She said, apologetic, at the same time Will muttered, “Who wants spaghettios for breakfast?”

Lou Ellen gave her a devilish grin, reaching her hand to her waist slowly.“I was just gonna use THIS--” With a dramatic flourish, she drew her glittering Celstial Bronze sword and held it out in front of her. Darcy jumped with a squeak, the daughter of Hecate shook with laughter.

Will, awake and walking again, hurriedly slapped her sword from her hand with a frightened noise and a warning glare. The girl snorted and rolled her eyes at him, picking it up and focusing her eyes on it. Nico watched with interest, only slightly surprised when the sword’s form seemed to shift and morph into something else, something smaller. After a moment, Nico realized it was a dagger.

Darcy gave a little applause, Lou Ellen bowed, Will scoffed.

_So cranky in the morning…_ Nico casually took Will’s hand and stuffed their intertwined fingers into his jacket pocket. Will looked over then, using his free hand to pat down Nico’s bed head, which was apparently worse than his had been.

“You look ridiculous.” Will fished around in Lou Ellen’s bag for a hair tie, giving it to the son of Hades.

Nico stuck out his tongue, pulling his hair up again. “You drool in your sleep, did y’know?”

Will’s face burned, and he frowned, moving to pull his hand away, but the dark haired demigod tugged him back with a sleepy smile. “Kiiiddiiing… sort of… I mean, you drool, but it’s kind of cute.” He squinted, as if thinking. “ _Kind_ of.”

Lou Ellen cracked open the lid of the spaghettios can with an excited squeal, her dagger shifting in shape again until it resembled a spoon. It was slightly crooked, a little goofy looking, but Lou Ellen seemed pleased with herself.

Nico: “I thought you could only do other weapons?”

She shrugged, smiling brightly. “I’ve been practicing. I almost have it, I think.” She plunged the spoon into the can and happily munched on the contents.

“So,” Darcy swallowed another mouthful of water before putting it back in Lou Ellen’s pack. She shook a few leaves out of her choppy white hair, brushing them from her eyes to look to Nico. “What now? Find Erecura?”

Nico shrugged. He opened his mouth to answer, when Will abruptly stopped and yanked his hand out of Nico’s, eyes lighting up with fear. He took a small step backward.

  
“ _No._ ”

Nico’s blood ran cold and he shivered, reaching a hand out. “Will?”

“We can’t do that.” He was shaking his head now, biting his lower lip and trying to piece his thoughts together. He didn’t take Nico’s hand, and the younger boy felt a small twinge of worry crop up in the back of his mind. _What if Will hit his head harder than we thought?_

Lou Ellen pulled the spoon from her mouth, placing a gentle hand on her friend’s shoulder. He looked to her, a wild look in his eyes.

“Will,” she said calmly. “You can tell us.”

He gulped, the initial adrenaline fading it seemed. He nodded.

“Wh-when I was asleep.. No, no,” he shook his head. “Before that. When I got separated from Darcy.”

“Okay,” Nico nodded. _This is good._ He was still fiddling with his ring, but patiently waited for Will to continue.

Darcy looked to the ground but said nothing.

“They weren’t phantoms,” he said. “But they were from Lyssa.” The hair on Nico’s neck prickled and he could feel himself getting angrier now that he knew who kidnapped his boyfriend. Will must’ve noticed, as he gingerly reclaimed the shorter boy’s hand.

“I’m okay, they didn’t hurt me.” He mumbled, a little red. “Why, were you worried?” He chuckled as if he’d told the funniest joke in Olympus. Nico punched him in the arm.

“ _Ow--_ ”

“You’re the biggest idiot I’ve ever met,” said Nico darkly, still holding his hand but squeezing it harshly now. Will’s eyes widened in surprise but he quickly rolled them. In an exasperated tone, he said,

“C’mon, I knew it was going to be fine--”

“Because you had a feeling?”

“Yes!” Will pulled on Nico’s hand, but he didn’t get any closer. “And I was right, wasn’t I? I’m okay, aren’t I?”

Nico broke the connection with a hard tug, stuffing his freed hand back into his jacket pocket.

“I had a feeling too, Will, I thought you were hurt or worse.” He had to mutter the words through clenched teeth for them to come out in English. He felt the fluttering in his chest again, the little blooms of fear he’d felt when Darcy first showed up alone, teary eyed and shivering.

Will took a brave step forward. “But I’m not! Nico, I’m _fine--_ ”

“How was I supposed to know that, Solace? You vanished. Darcy came to us crying, said you told her to let go, what was I supposed to think?”

“Trust me? Have a little faith, maybe?” Will’s words stung like needles, and Nico had to take a half step away. His chest and eyes were _burning_ , what was it that Will couldn’t understand here? He disappeared, and yea, Nico got mad that he would just run off like that, but when he fainted, Nico didn’t know what to feel. It was all confusion and concern and _what if what if what if._

And now, here he was, alive and well in front of him, and insistent that he did nothing wrong?

“I-I do trust you--” Nico stuttered, tongue tripping over the words he really wanted to say. _I was scared. How was I supposed to know? You disappeared, Will, what was I supposed to do.._

“It doesn’t sound like it,” Will accused, eyes narrowed. Nico felt himself shrinking under his gaze, heart beating in his throat. What was this? What was happening?

“B-but,” Nico swallowed, “What if-- what if something _happened--?_ ”

“Nothing happened!” Will’s voice was loud, enough to cause Darcy to jump and Lou Ellen to growl in warning. He lowered it, but the heat which pushed his words was still harsh. “I’m fine, di Angelo, just like I promised I’d be.”

“How was I supposed to know that, Will! You can’t _blame_ me for--”

“For not trusting me?” Will huffed out a laugh. It was bitter and cold and smothering. Something snapped in Nico, he suddenly felt drained of energy and exhausted. Small, inky flames had been peeking from under his feet, and they quickly extinguished at the feeling.

His own voice cracked. “Would you let me _finish?_ Will, I trust you.”

_What if what if what if what if_

“Obviously not,” muttered the blonde.

“Shut up!” _What if what if what if what if_ “I-I was jus-just--” _Scared. Worried. Terrified._ “I didn’t know--” _What to do. What to think. What to feel._

His words died in his throat and Nico felt like screaming, but he couldn’t manage more than a frustrated grunt. Will--once again-- rolled his eyes, but before he could open his mouth, Lou Ellen stepped in with a hard,

“ _Enough_.”

Gods, Nico was shaking. His eyes felt hot and his fingers had hastily begun twisting and twirling the skull ring on his finger. His heart beat frantically and threatened to spill out of his mouth, but a small hand tugged gently on his jacket sleeve and pulled away his attention.

“It’s okay,” said a soft voice. Darcy. She was whispering, casting quick glances to Lou Ellen, who was growling something at Will that Nico couldn’t hear. “It’s okay,” she said again.

“..No.. it isn’t..” Nico was speaking slowly, counting his breaths. _I have to.. say the right words. Say the right words and he’ll understand._ Darcy shook her head.

“You’re doing it wrong,” she fished out his hand from his pocket and squeezed lightly. “Here, breathe in deep with your mouth, then let it out through your nose.” The girl demonstrated calmly, and Nico found himself complying to the instruction. The static in his head slowly ebbed away with each breath, and Nico found himself trying to say thank you.

Darcy smiled at him. She waved her hand dismissively. “You’ve done so much for me already, huh?” Nico nodded once, feeling his cheeks heat but ignoring the warmth.

“Now then,” Lou Ellen backed away from Will, who was scowling at the ground with an unreadable expression. “If they weren’t phantoms, then what were they?”

Will mumbled something under his breath and sighed, picking his head up again.

“Mania.”

Darcy stilled, hazel eyes wide. A hand reached to her hair, where she tugged nervously on a piece. Nico struggled to remember what little he knew about mania. _Spirits of insanity.. spirits of madness._ “Children of Nyx?” He tried, looking to Lou Ellen. “Like the Goddess Lyssa?”

Lou Ellen was nodding. “We don’t know much about them, but that isn’t really surprising, seeing as we weren’t aware of Lyssa being able to bear children.” She ran a hand through her hair, yawning. “They’ve been described as Madness personified, but there wasn’t much else description wise.”

“They were kind of… batty?” Will shrugged a little, ever unhelpful.

Lou Ellen deadpanned, “Batty as in crazy, or bat-like in appearance?”

“Both.”

“Um,” The demigods turned their heads to Darcy, who tugged and twisted the piece of white hair until Nico was worried it might fall out. “Did.. they, um..” Her voice was kind of shivery and unsure, but Will cut her off before she had to finish the thought.

“Yea, they talked about you. They uh..” His cheeks suddenly lighted up, and he cast his glance away. “I saw… um.. nevermind, it doesn’t matter.”

Nico frowned, curious, but not willing to say so. There was something viciously hot crawling around in his chest, and he felt his jaw clench. He huffed softly and turned his head away. If he didn’t want to say anything, fine. Not like he cared anyway.

Next to him, Darcy dropped her hands to her sides, much to Nico’s relief. She resorted to twisting the ends of her shirt, and when Nico glanced up at Will, he found the boy’s eyes locked on her with a ridiculously soft expression. He eventually made eye contact with Nico and instantly the look changed to something sharper, but Nico only hardened his own gaze and stared back. He’d been taken aback before, unused to this side of him. But now he could see that the boy was just being stubborn, and two could play that game, couldn’t they?

Lou Ellen again cut the still air with the sting in her voice: “ _Anyway._ What did they want? You said they didn’t hurt you, so what was it?”

Nico felt a surge of pride when Will had to wrestle his glare away to get back on track with the conversation.

The son of Apollo described waking up dazed and confused in a wet cave-like place with a pair of bickering mania nearby, one pacing up a storm and the other more relaxed. He mentioned the more fretful one, Annabel Lee, giving him the ability to see them by giving him a “touch of Madness” as he coined it.

“Was it bad?” Darcy whispered. Will shrugged at her. “I got used to it actually.” This did not ease Darcy’s noticeable discomfort.

“They said they were servants of Lyssa’s, and that they had a message for us.” Will suddenly appeared uncomfortable, cheeks warm and rubbing the back of his neck. “Ah.. they originally were gonna take.. Nico.. but they didn’t know if he’d survive the trip.. because.. ah..”

“Shadow traveling,” Nico guessed, biting the inside of his cheek. _Is he talking about me like I’m not even here now? That’s mature._ “I would’ve survived the going, don’t know about the coming back. You barely did anyway.” He added the last comment without hesitation, a little surprised at his own boldness. _Whatever_ , he thought. _He started it._ Even as he thought that, he had to fight to ignore the sharp stinging in his chest.

Will shot him a look, and Nico could tell the blonde wanted to argue something, but both of their attentions were taken by Lou Ellen’s snapping fingers. Maybe now wasn’t the time.

“C’mon, Will, focus,” Lou Ellen’s voice held the tone of a preschool teacher trying to keep a child from getting distracted. Will responded in character so it seemed, having to fight back another eyeroll to get back to the conversation.

“Anyway, she couldn’t remember all of the message, which is why I passed out before. She called me back when she remembered.”

“Was Lyssa there?” Darcy asked suddenly, an unfamiliar tone in her voice. Will blinked at her and shook his head. “It wasn’t really a place it was--”

“Nowhere,” she said, bluntly, fingers finding her hair again. Nico watched her quietly, thinking back to the first time they ever really talked. They’d been in a windowless version of the infirmary, where it was almost foggy and everything felt.. odd. _Maybe that was Nowhere, too.._

Lou Ellen held up her hands in a halting gesture. “Wait, wait, wait. What’s Nowhere?”

Will took in a breath.

“It’s the place that the you-that-isn’t-you goes in times of great stress, or when you’re angry and hurt and confused and afraid all at once. That feeling the you-that-isn’t-you experiences in Nowhere is Nothing.”

“Nothing?” Lou Ellen parroted.

The blonde blew out a sigh but continued, “Yes, Nothing is the feeling. Nowhere is the place.”

“But what’s the you-that-isn’t-you--”

“I get it.”

Nico and Darcy had said the words simultaneously, but neither looked to each other or even to the other two demigods to offer an explanation. Will’s eyes grazed over them for a moment before he nodded to himself.

“I kind of get it too.”

“I get it but I don’t, does that make sense?” Lou Ellen rubbed her hands over her eyes, exhausted all of a sudden.

Will: “No.”

“So she called me back,” Will continued, chewing thoughtfully on his lower lip. “And.. a-and she told me the message.” He was wringing his hands and glancing around him, paranoid.

“What was it?” Lou Ellen prompted, waving a hand in the air, telling him to go on. Darcy was watching him carefully, and the way she was posed like she could flee at any moment intrigued the son of Hades, but he didn’t press the matter.

“Th-the first part didn’t make any sense, something like ‘the cat was the beginning’ or something.”

He was looking to Darcy, seeing if she’d understand, but the girl’s eyes narrowed in thought and she slowly shook her head.

“And the second part?” Lou Ellen was running out of patience, nervously biting her thumbnail.

Will swallowed. “The second part was um.. we shouldn’t tr-trust…” He gulped again, noticeably uncomfortable. After a minute, Nico started to feel it too; an icy, shivery feeling running up his spine. The daughter of Hecate’s demeanor changed from impatient to alert in the same minute, and Darcy stilled like a statue, eyes flickering toward a collection of trees.

 **  
**_This feeling…_ It wasn’t difficult to place, but it was hard to accept as Nico followed Darcy’s line of sight into a grouping of shadows in the woods. The burst of ice that ran through his veins when he did only confirmed the notion. _Ah_ , he thought. _We’re being watched._


	34. Seek Shelter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dripping down sidewalks  
> following the streams in the gutter  
> refuge under a weeping willow  
> ironic but you pretend you didn't notice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3 haha im exhausted

_Where would I have run, anyway? It’s not like I have anywhere else to go, really. Where is ‘home’?_

Darcy silenced her racing and confusing thoughts, trying to keep herself focused on the situation they were in. Her pulse was probably racing, but her head was finally clear.

They were being watched, monitored, by something or someone just out of sight. Darcy could sense the presence just barely, the menace of it not easily concealed but cleanly managed to only a small blip on her radar. At this realization, Will had dropped the conversation entirely, claiming he’d forgotten the message from the mania with a fake apologetic smile. Lou Ellen forced a laugh, made a joke at his expense, and started the group moving again, walking behind them. Nico even loudly expressed that the mania were all probably just a fever dream from before, earning him a sharp look from the other boy and a grunt response.

Darcy had said nothing. She had smiled sheepishly and said nothing and kept moving and didn’t look.

The silence that followed was thick and heavy, broken only by meager attempts at humor from Lou Ellen or from slight bickering between Nico and Will over something unimportant. Though no one said it, the familiarity of the sudden presence confirmed the suspicion.

The Goddess Erecura was the one they shouldn’t trust.

Why, Darcy didn’t know. And it wasn’t like she could ask at the moment.

Lou Ellen casually slung her sword over her shoulder, leisurely gazing out into the trees as if nature was an interest of hers. Her eyes hovered over all the dark, shadowy areas, but quickly and casually moved on, pretending to have seen a bird or some such. She even made a comment or two about the weather. Cloudy. Bit cold. Very unseasonal.

Will was in the front of the herd, fingers twitching at the sound of the few arrows that clacked around in the quiver on his back as he walked. He held the bow as if it were a harp, stringing light in places of other chords and creating a soft melody that soothed some of Darcy’s frayed nerves. The boy was singing softly to himself in Greek, glancing out at the trees every now and again.  

Nico and Darcy were in the middle; Nico drawing lines in the dirt with his Stygian blade as they walked, Darcy twisting the golden ring on her finger and watching it shimmer. She knew she was weaker now, she understood that she wouldn’t be able to connect so easily with the Madness anymore or use it for such a long time but… whatever help she could offer, she was prepared to give. Any of it. All of it.

Nico turned to Darcy then, and without preface, asked, “So were you born in Ireland?”

It was such a strange question, Darcy only gave him a look of surprise and a small nod. Quietly she added, “We lived there for a long time. Uncle taught us English at a young age. I think he knew..”

“Knew?”

“That we were going to leave one day.” She added, almost wistfully, spotting a cloud or two start to darken.

 

The conversation dulled after that, Darcy and Nico taking turns sharing small childhood stories from their homelands-- Nico even taught her how to say a few things in Italian. (Insults mostly, each one causing Will to glance behind him as if he were being called. It’d been amusing the first few times, then Nico mumbled something and the son of Apollo sniffed and didn’t turn around again.) She told him a few stories about her and Dillon; growing up, causing trouble. She casually mentioned again the death of her father and in front of her, Will stiffened and almost tripped over a stick.

“Will,” she called softly. Nico turned his head away, as if giving them privacy to speak, though Darcy noted the blank look in his eye before he turned. Will glanced to her, offering a small grin for a response. She waved him closer and he appeared on the left of her, opposite of Nico.

“Um,” It was such an awkward question. Should she even ask? “I-I… um.. did--”

Will sighed a bit, and said under his breath, “Yea, me and Nico had a bit of a fight but we’re okay. I think.”

  
Darcy blinked. Honestly, she hadn’t thought to bring that up, she was going to ask something different entirely. But now that it was out in the open…

She scooted a little closer, away from Nico who was already talking with Lou Ellen about something.

“I saw that. The fight I mean. Gave him quite the shock, I think.” She spoke softly, mostly so no one could overhear their conversation, but also wondering if she acted softspoken that he’d spill more details.

“Shock?” He asked. “I did?”

Darcy nodded. “A bit of an anxiety shock, but he caught his breath again.” The boy shut his eyes for a moment, grumbling to himself.

“I just don’t understand why he’s so upset,” he admitted at last, opening his eyes again. Blue like an ocean, blue like cobalt. “I mean, he’s mad because I trusted my instincts and disappeared for a little bit--”

“Three hours.”

Will stilled. “..what?”

The daughter of Lyssa shrugged. “The time between when I let go, to when I found Nico, to when we all found you again. It was three hours. Then you were loopy for at least three hours and then we stopped just before nightfall when you became feverish.”

The blonde seemed to struggle with the information. “So?”

“So to you it felt like minutes. To Nico, you disappeared for hours. Sure, we had your body, but you didn’t act like you were in it, y’know?”

At his silence, she decided to drop the quiet act altogether and say her piece.

“Then you’re awake and acting fine again, as if it never happened. That’s the point, Will, that’s why he’s upset with you-- you acted like it never happened, like it never even mattered.”

“I-It _didn’t_ matter, it doesn’t!”

“But it did happen, and you can’t act like it didn’t. He was worried about you.”

“He wouldn’t have been worried if he only trusted me more,” Will snapped finally, moving ahead of Darcy and the rest of the group again. The girl sighed.

A pair of hands grabbed her by the waist and pulled her backwards. She would’ve jumped if not for the familiar face of Lou Ellen.

“These kids,” she tutted, shaking her head at the boys in front of them both now. Nico still slashed lines in the dirt, Will continued strumming his bow. Neither acknowledged the other.

Lou Ellen hummed. “I talked to Nico a second ago, he’s mad because Will’s pretending that ‘putting his life in danger over a ‘feeling’ is no big deal to him.’”

Darcy nodded a bit. “Will feels that Nico ‘doesn’t trust him.’”

Both girls sighed in harmony with each other.

“Hey,” Lou Ellen brightened after an hour or two of traversing through an unknown wood, being followed by an unknown stalker. Will turned his head her way, and Darcy glanced up from where she’d been nodding off. (What? Walking in silence is _draining_.) Nico grunted, fiddling with the ring on his finger.

“ _Hey,_ ” she said again, tone laced with something Darcy hadn’t heard before. Something serious, something sneaky? At the sound of it, both boys spun on their heels and began to walk backwards, watching her with curious eyes. Darcy watched them watching her, and then quickly turned to watch her again.

“Say… you know what we really _need?_ ” She dragged out the ‘need’ to an usual length, emphasizing it greatly but also.. hinting? Darcy whipped her eyes back to the other two demigods, eager to see if they were catching on to this mysterious speak.

Blank eyes and empty looks. They shook their heads like synchronized robots.

Lou Ellen’s eye twitched but she put on a fake smile that was too big for her face. “C’mon,” she prompted. “You know what I’m talking about! Something we really _need_ , it’s kind of a _necessity_ …” She scanned their faces for recognition. Nico’s eyes may have lit up a tad, but his brain was struggling as it tried to catch up. Will still appeared lost.

Darcy was on the edge of her seat.

“Ugh, how do I explain this?” Lou Ellen dramaticized her actions, tapping her fingers on her chin as she pretended to think hard. “A _necessity_ we could use right about now, seeing as it’s about to _rain_ and we could use a _roof_ and maybe even a _fire_ …”

Nico’s eyes were wide now as he connected all of the dots, Will only starting to appear like he understood. Darcy was confused beyond words, all she could do was watch the scene unfold.

Nico coughed, “Y-yea, y’know a friend of mine had a really nice _cabin_.” He looked to Will expectantly, and the click was made. Suddenly all eyes were on Darcy. Lou Ellen looped her arm through hers.

“Oh, yeeeaaa, I remember her!” Lou Ellen said, detouring the group from their current path and off into a string of trees. “Remind me, Nickles, what was her name?” A coy smirk was playing on her lips when the first droplets of rain came falling down.

Nico and Will were following behind hurriedly.

“Was it… Helen?” Nico hid his smile just barely.

“No no no, was it Henrietta?” Will coughed to cover up a chuckle.

“That’s not right, no.” Lou Ellen outright laughed. “Why,” she put a hand to her chest dramatically. “I think I’ve got it!”

Darcy was squinting in the rain at a shimmery space of air a few paces away. Has that always been there? Lou Ellen tugged her along as they approached, and snatched a door knob as it appeared. Mist… She flung it open with a flourish.

“ _Helga!_ ”

The girl dived inside, dragging Darcy in after her, who was then followed by Nico and Will, who shut the door with a bang. Almost instantly, the mood changed.

“Are we safe?” Nico asked cautiously. Will peered through the curtains on the window, nodding. “We’re out of the woods. Literally speaking. Great idea, Lou.”

“Of course it was, it only took you four years to catch on.” Lou Ellen rolled her eyes, looking to Darcy. The short haired girl was looking around in wonderment. Where were they? Who was Helga? Just what exactly had happened?

“You’re confused,” said Lou Ellen. Darcy nodded, this was widely true. The daughter of Hecate continued, “We’ll explain, we promise, but right now you just need to know that we aren’t being followed anymore.”

“It’s Erecura,” Will said suddenly. “The mania told me that she was a bad omen and that we can’t trust her.”

“They’re right obviously,” Nico said, unsurprised. He was pacing in front of the fireplace. Who lit it? “Something very strongly tied to Erecura was what was following us.”

“A phantom?” Asked Lou Ellen.

Darcy shook her head, “Phantoms don’t feel like that.” _They don’t feel like death itself._

“Then what was it?”

Nico shook his head. “There’s no time to find out, we need a plan.”

Lou Ellen: “A plan for what? All we know is that we can’t trust Erecura, am I the only one who’d like to know why?”

Will shrugged a bit, nodding. “She could be planning something.” Lou Ellen and Nico both agreed, the three going on as to what it could be, their words muffled and muted to Darcy. She was staring around the cabin they were in, feeling the warmth and little else, a small shock suddenly flickering through her.

It was..

_Dillon…?_

“...then why send us after her? Why tell us exactly where to go?”

“Maybe she meant to kill all of us there, she wasn’t expecting for it not to work.”

“Wait, what good comes from killing us?”

“What, am I suddenly not worth killing? Thanks, Lou.”

“Shut up, Will, this is serious.”

Darcy walked to the fireplace, where Nico appeared to be lost in his head again. She left him alone, reading the inscription above the flames. _Helga… necessity.._ Ah. Now it made sense. A little.  

She couldn’t understand why Erecura would send her to her mother’s territory, nor why she was now trying to help them get back… And how everyone else seemed to be comfortable in this cabin, had they been here before? Honestly, Darcy had a million questions--

“ _Darce._ ”

Her eyes grew wide at the voice in her head, but she successfully hid her surprise from Nico, who wouldn’t have noticed to begin with, likely. His eyes were unfocused and glazed over, but every now and then they’d slide over to Will before quickly darting away.

He was probably still upset over their fight--

“ _Darce? Are you listening?_ ”

_Yes, yes, sorry._ She made a note to talk to Nico later. _I thought you left. Like…_ left _left._

She heard an apologetic chuckle echo in her head, but caught a hint of bitterness in his tone. What are you doing back?

“ _You’ve forgotten some things._ ”

Forgotten? Darcy chewed thoughtfully on her thumbnail, slowly pacing in the cabin’s small kitchen, looking over the pantries as if they held secrets. Will and Lou Ellen were still whispering fiercely at one another by the door, and Nico now sat at the fireplace, poking at the logs with the poker. Forgotten? What could she have…

“The cat was the beginning,” Darcy mumbled to herself, earning a few glances from Lou Ellen, but nothing more.

In her head there was clapping. “ _Yes! Cats!_ ” The voice grew soft, younger, “ _I don’t like cats, Darce…_ ”

Right, right, even growing up, Dillon was wary around cats. They’d often venture into the village to buy food for dinner, and any strays they saw gave him such a fright. She remembered how tightly he used to grip her hand, how wild his eyes had been, how hushed his voice…

Voice. She bit her thumbnail.

Voice. Nico sighed lightly.

 _Voice…_ Will and Lou Ellen argued.

“ _Voice._ ” Dillon mimicked, a child.

 _Voice. Cats._ Darcy had rooted to one spot in the kitchen, gaze elsewhere. She was muttering incoherently to herself, but luckily everyone was too occupied to listen. _What did you say, Dillon, what did you say back then?_ She was seeing claw marks and tear streaks, her neck and wrists stung and she glanced down to see blood smeared across her front.

“ _Dillon what did you do!_ ” She was a child, her hair was blonde and fell across her shoulders and her eyes were hazel and on fire. Dillon tried to wipe the blood on his shirt, only smearing it into a stain. He was mumbling.

“ _I had to.. I had to…_ ”

“ _Was it a cat?_ ” A young Darcy asked, naive, oblivious. She thought he’d gotten hurt, she thought it was an accident.

The young boy nodded, green eyes swelling with tears. She gingerly wrapped her arms around him, mindful of his cuts, and held him on the front porch. He cried.

_Yes, yes, yes but what did you_ say?

 **  
** Darcy was still standing in the kitchen when everything flew off the walls with a loud and booming crash.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh noooo 
> 
> im still exhausted


	35. Whistling Winds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and the wind picks up and carries the storm with it  
> where it lands  
> no one knows  
> listen for the whistling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i always begin these things with an apology don't i  
> im sorry<3
> 
> but enjoy this update! not sure when the next one will be, we've thrown all scheduling out the window haven't we

Will has never experienced an earthquake, but he was sure, with his limited expertise, that what just knocked him on his back and dropped a framed picture of a badger on his face wasn’t one. 

 

For a moment, no one moved. Will stay sprawled on his back, groaning in pain, hearing nearby grunts and moans of similar nature as they all just relished in what had happened. Lou Ellen seemed to stagger back to her feet, holding a hand to her bloody cheek. Judging from the shards of what seemed to have been a yellow vase, Will guessed he’d have to treat that later. 

Suddenly, he felt his heart  _ pound _ . 

 

_ Nico. _

 

The son of Apollo sat up far too quickly, cringing at the flash of pain and watching lights dance behind his eyelids. He groaned again, humming when at last the light faded and he could see. With a wince, Will turned his head to the fireplace. The fire had gone out, and now only smoldered with ash. Nico was curled on the ground next to it, clutching a red hot poker ( _ What if he got stabbed with it! Stupid, stupid di Angelo.. _ ) and whining. The boy inhaled sharply and suddenly started coughing, causing Will’s heart to pound furiously again. 

“U-Ugh…” The son of Hades grumbled after finally catching his breath. “..Wha..what...just.. what?” He sounded so exasperated, it was almost kind of amusing. 

 

Lou Ellen spoke up from the kitchen, where she was digging Darcy out of a pile of boxed and canned goods that had been flung from the pantries. Kicking away a bag of Cheetos, Lou Ellen scooped up the daughter of Lyssa as if she weighed nothing.

“Crash landing, I guess. We being followed?” The white haired, exhausted looking girl in her arms shook her head. Lou Ellen gave her a poke in the side and the girl squeaked, fighting to get her feet on the ground. Eventually she did, brushing her pants and red in the face, mumbling in her mother tongue. 

 

“I was unaware that this cabin was a spaceship,” she looked pointedly at Lou Ellen, who held up her hands with a smirk.

“We’re not in space--”

“You know what I mean.” 

 

Will grinned at the two of them, pushing himself to his feet with a wince. He could feel a dull throbbing in his left ankle, and his head ached terribly. He found himself reliving the memory of a mad with power phantom Dillon knocking him to the floor as if he were a ragdoll. Will shivered, focusing on making it to the door. 

He grabbed the knob and twisted, pushing the door, but the door refused to budge.

 

“There’s something blocking the door,” he said with a sigh. His head hurt now.

 

Nico, having stumbled to his feet finally, made his way to one of the windows. He tugged lightly on the curtain, peeking out. Lou Ellen joined him after a moment, flinging the curtains back and opening the window with a deep inhale. 

 

“So,” she was unusually chipper for someone whose cheek was just sliced open by glass. “Where are we?” Rain fell steadily outside, casting a gloomy shadow over the cabin and its guests.

 

Will hobbled over to have a look. “Woods again. Though they seem... “ 

Nico appeared next to him, eyes slightly wider. “We’re… we’re near camp…”

Lou Ellen looked at them both. “Why would Helga crash here?”

“I suppose the rush is responsible for the crash landing,” Nico waved a hand. “But this is necessary, right? Otherwise Helga wouldn’t have--” 

 

A shadow fell over their faces. Ambling slowly along in the trees was a large, dark figure. The demigods tensed; Lou Ellen and Nico ready to draw their swords, Will’s hand hovering over the arrows in his quiver. Only Darcy seemed unconcerned as she walked up to the window and started to hoist herself out of the cabin through it. 

Lou Ellen reached for her. 

 

“What are you doing?” The girl hissed. Darcy landed on the wet earth with a squelching sound, looking off in the distance. 

“I can’t say I understand this Helga business, but you say she led us here in a rush and that she only brings you to places you need to go. We obviously needed to be here, and quickly.” She rubbed the back of her neck, probably kinked from being attacked by groceries. “I suspect we need to get back to camp, I’m sure we could learn more about whatever that beast is.” 

 

The remaining dry demigods were silent for a moment, and Will felt a little sheepish, his cheeks warming up. Thankfully, Nico was just as red in the face. 

With a huff, Lou Ellen slung herself through the window, determined not to be outdone. Nico followed behind, carefully crawling out with small pained expressions. Will was the last to leave, wincing at the pain in his ankle as it shot through his leg. 

 

“..Are...are you okay?” Nico asked gently, staring at the ground. Will grimaced. This was getting ridiculous.. but… 

“Yea..” he mumbled, glancing at him quickly and then away again. Ahead of them both, Darcy and Lou Ellen shared a knowing look and sighed audibly. 

 

It’s not that he wanted to fight, in fact, Will wanted nothing more than to hold Nico’s hand in his again and make stupid jokes and just talk to him about… gods,  _ anything _ . But there was a tightness in his stomach, and it lurched at the thought. Nico didn’t trust him. Or at least, he wasn’t acting like he trusted him very much. Will could understand that he’d been worried, but he was fine now and nothing had happened, so why was Nico so mad at him? 

 

_ Does he think I’m keeping something from him…? _ Will bristled. Why would he lie? 

 

The group set their sights on camp, casting wary glances into the trees every now and then, watching out for the beast. 

Nico walked next to Darcy, staring at the ground with an unreadable expression. Darcy seemed to be talking, and every now and again he’d make a noise of affirmation to let her know he was listening, but he didn’t contribute to the conversation much. 

Will sighed. 

 

Lou Ellen stepped into pace next to him. “What’s up buttercup, missing your ghost king?” Her voice lilted and she grinned around the words, but she dropped the smile and nudged his shoulder gently. 

“C’mon,” she sighed. “I know you’re not happy right now, and I know you think Nico doesn’t trust you… but…” The girl shook her head. “If he’d disappeared, what would you have felt, Will? He was scared and angry, we all were.” 

 

Will opened his mouth to reply but she cut him off quickly. 

“Yea yea, you’re fine, we get it. But it’s not about that, Solace. You’re acting like it never happened, like you never put your life in danger over a gut feeling. To Nico…” Lou Ellen wore a somber expression, one Will had only seen a handful of times before. 

 

“To Nico.. you made it sound like you didn’t care… about your life…” 

The tightness held firm in Will’s stomach and he frowned. Lou Ellen didn’t say anything more, and she walked next to him in silence, watching the cloudy sky get darker. 

 

_ Would it… would it have mattered? _ The thought came unexpectedly, but Will wasn’t surprised to find it there.  _ If I was wrong, and something did happen to me… would it have mattered? _

 

_ Of course, you idiot! _ Came Nico’s voice. 

 

Right. Nico cares about him. 

_ “You loooove me~ Soooo much~”  _

_ “Sh-Shut up!” _

 

Will cared about him too, for the record. 

_ Oh _ , Will thought tiredly. He replaced himself in the situation with Nico and felt his chest flare up in protest.  _ Oh _ , he thought again. 

 

_ He’s upset because I… _ The son of Apollo bit his lip.  _ Oh _ . 

 

\---

 

Nico’s mind was wandering again, and he felt like he was getting lost. It was becoming harder and harder to listen to Darcy, every now and then she’d ask if he was alright and he’d have to pull himself back out of his own head just to answer. ‘Yes, oh everything’s just fine, I’m just thinking about Will and thinking I was being too harsh and that he probably doesn’t like me anymore! Yep, I’m all good!’ 

 

He didn’t  _ really  _ think that, Nico was sure Will would still… have feelings for him just as much as he does, but… he worried that they wouldn’t be the same. Don’t fights change couples? He wasn’t sure, and he struggled to remember if Percy and Annabeth ever fought before remembering that they fight all the time. 

 

_ That’s just their relationship, _ he told himself. His mind offered up Jason and Piper, but he didn’t think he knew them that well. Jason, sure, but he didn’t know much about Piper.  _ Hazel and Frank seem to get along… _ Nico rolled his eyes.  _ Who could pick a fight with either of them, though? You’d feel bad just for trying. _

 

“..co?... Nico?” 

“Hm.” 

“Wanna talk about it?” 

 

Nico looked to Darcy and she grinned shyly, waving her hand dismissively. “Y-You don’t have to, it’s fine, I was.. I was just--”

“S’okay,” Nico found himself saying. He kicked at a rock on the ground and watched it skitter into a small puddle. “Maybe… maybe I need to, y’know?” 

He felt a twinge of pride at that, pleased that he’s gotten better at voicing his feelings and not keeping it all bottled up. The feeling faded pretty quickly, however, and he frowned. 

 

“I… I just… I don’t want to fight anymore..” His voice was low and he practically mumbled the words, his ears turning red. Darcy was nodding at him, a sympathetic look playing on her features. He reddened deeper. 

 

“Then don’t.” 

 

Nico shoved his hands in his pockets with a small huff. “Easy for you to say,” he countered. “He’s so stubborn,” he added with a scowl.

Darcy hummed in response, carding her fingers through her snowy hair. She winced a bit when she raised her arm, and lowered it reluctantly. 

 

“You okay?” Nico asked, taking mental stock of his own aches and bruises. 

Darcy shrugged slightly, mouth twitching. “I was attacked by non-perishables.” Nico grinned and Darcy broke into a smile, giggling. 

 

“Listen,” she said after a minute of silence. “I don’t know you very well. We only met because I had an episode in the infirmary and you fell unconscious.” She offered an apologetic smile and he smiled back. He’d forgiven that long ago. 

“Anyway, you two came to help me despite everything that’d happened, so I’ve observed you two a lot since then. You two are…” 

 

Nico gulped.  _ Stupid? Idiotic? Stubborn jerks? _

 

“So strange,” Darcy laughed lightly, eyes sparkling. “You guys… just fit. I’m not sure how else to describe it. Watching you two really…” Her gaze flittered downward. “...helped me… I-I guess.” 

 

Nico wasn’t sure what to say to that, his tongue fumbling to form at least one coherent word as his face got redder with each stumble. Darcy watched him struggle for a moment more before giggling and saving him from being an embarrassment. 

 

“I understand a lot now,” she nodded. “About a lot of things. So, u-um… th-that’s why, eh.. er..” Her own cheeks began to heat and she snapped her mouth shut, throwing her glance away and squirming. 

It was Nico’s turn to smile. 

 

“I get it,” he said with a sigh. “Thanks. I’ll.. u-um… try talking to him.. I-I guess.” 

Darcy beamed. 

Somewhere behind him, Lou Ellen ‘awwww’d and wiped imaginary tears from her eyes. Next to her, Will seemed to be completely flushed and torn between wanting to flee and wanting to tie Lou Ellen to a tree and leave her there. 

 

Nico swallowed thickly. He was really going to have to do this, wasn’t he? He tossed another glance Will’s direction, hesitant. What if this only made things worse? 

Sensing his hesitation, Darcy gingerly took his hand. Nico opened his mouth to insist that he was fine, really, they could just talk about it later, back at camp--

She tugged him back, approaching Will slowly, smiling knowingly at him. Will acknowledged them both with a blush. 

 

“Hi Will,” said Darcy gently. She pulled Nico forward, depositing him next to the blonde. She then reached out a hand and tugged the fabric of Will’s shirt lightly. He was still one sleeved from the makeshift bandage crafting back at Lyssa’s. 

Darcy nodded once at him, and he nodded back. 

 

“Good work!” Lou Ellen proclaimed, claiming Darcy’s hand as her own and leading her away from the two, humming to herself giddily. She shot Nico a wink and a scary smile and he felt his spine freeze. 

 

Next to him, Will’s shoulders relaxed and he breathed deep. Nico felt a twinge in his chest and he almost tripped. He’d seen Solace with his guard down multiple times, but why did it make his face warm  _ now? _

 

“Nico, I--”

“Listen, Will--” 

 

Nico sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. “You first,” he said after a second of silence, while he contemplated just how awkward this situation was going to get. 

Will nodded and opened his mouth, but the words died on his tongue and he furrowed his brow, suddenly lost. 

 

“What?” Nico asked. 

“I…” Will blinked wide ocean eyes at him. “I forgot what I was going to say.” 

Nico fought back a grin. “You just… forgot? Will, how do you just--”

Will put a hand over his face. “I don’t knoooowww…” He also was biting back a smile, much to Nico’s relief. “Ugh, please just say something,” Will begged, looking oh so pitiful, Nico could just die laughing. 

 

“Okay, okay.” Nico cleared his throat, fingers finding the skull ring he wore and giving it a twist. “Um, I-I’m… I’m sorry… that I got mad, I mean, you didn’t deserve that and I guess I kind of just blew it out of proportion--” 

 

“No, no, I totally deserved that, di Angelo.” Will dropped his hands to his sides. He hummed, kicking at the ground as they walked. “I didn’t mean it when I said that you didn’t trust me,” he murmured. “I was just… upset I guess.” 

 

“S’okay,” Nico shrugged at him, praying to every god and goddess he could think of that his face wasn’t as hot as it felt. “I was just… scared. Y’know?” 

“Mm.” Will nodded slowly, raising his head to meet Nico’s eyes. Nico found that he missed his eyes, and quickly chastised himself for thinking that because  _ gods, really? _

 

“I’m glad you’re okay,” he continued on, hoping that if he kept talking that maybe the right words would sort themselves out. “But you were gone for a long time and I didn’t know what to think. Then you started acting like you were sick or something and I kind of panicked--” 

Will threaded his fingers through Nico’s and gave an experimental tug. Nico inched closer, but only barely. 

 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, squeezing Nico’s hand. Gods, Will was so warm. Had he always been this warm? Surely not, Nico would have noticed. 

Will looked him in the face again and flushed. “Wh-what..?” 

 

Nico blinked, realizing that he’d been staring with his mouth agape. He quickly shut it and turned his head away, shaking it hard. 

 

“N-no, nothing.” 

“Nico?” Will mumbled, voice carrying a dangerously cheerful lilt to it. 

“Hm?” Nico didn’t dare look at him, knowing that his face was cherry tomato firetruck red and likely glowing and signaling anyone nearby. Will rubbed his thumb over Nico’s hand, leaning his head in close enough to brush his ear with his nose. 

Nico swatted at him with his free hand and he backed away with a giggle.

 

“Knock it off,” he grumbled, squeezing Will’s hand tight and nudging him with his shoulder. Will gave him a quick peck before retreating to his side of the path with a sigh. 

 

“I don’t know what I was thinking,” he admitted eventually after three agonizingly silent minutes. Nico gave him a curious look and he shrugged. “You were so mad I just thought… I don’t know, that you didn’t trust me as much as you think you do? It was stupid and I’m sorry.” 

 

Nico opened his mouth but found a hand clamp over it as Lou Ellen slung her arm around his shoulder. 

 

“Look at this, Darce! Our precious boys kissing and making up!”

Darcy stood next to a flushed Will Solace, doe-eyed and so not innocent. “They haven’t kissed yet, have they? Did I miss it?” 

 

Nico stuttered, “Sh-shut-shut up!” as he fumbled to put at least some sort of distance between himself and the blonde. The son of Apollo took offense and yanked the young demigod closer, wrapping both arms around him in a snare. Despite his beacon of blush, Will looked pleased with himself and nuzzled his nose against Nico’s neck, causing him to squirm.  _ Honestly? _ Nico sent curses to every god and goddess he could think of. He felt like he heard laughter. 

 

“G-g- _ gods _ , Solace,” he squeaked, helpless. “You are no help!” 

Will laughed like starlight and Nico, though continuing to struggle, found it to be the most beautiful sound he’d heard in awhile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yaaay boyfriends
> 
> (also is it shameful that i suddenly like the idea of Darcy and Lou Ellen together? like a mischievous power couple bringing out the best in each other? like Nico and Will?) 
> 
> (again im sorry please dont hurt me)  
> soupella.tumblr.com 


	36. Lightning Strikes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> when the dark sky bares its veins  
> that's how you know how fast to run

Nico and Will made up quickly, but Darcy often caught one or the other grinning sadly in remembrance. She imagined they were wondering why they thought they could stay away. The moon needs the sun, after all. 

 

Still, Darcy thought of cats and beginnings, attempting further to piece together the puzzle that created this whole nightmare quest. She tried to call on to Dillon again, thinking he was somehow now within her like a second conscience, but he remained silent. 

 

_ Cats… ‘The cat was the beginning.’ _

 

She only recently recalled that Dillon never liked cats. Even fake ones like toys or sweater designs, he was wary of every sort of feline. Darcy wondered if she’d somehow blocked that from her memory of him, after she’d… 

Anyway, she remembered no cats and no beginnings and walked next to Lou Ellen befuddled and annoyed and wishing she could just pluck memories out of her head with her fingers. 

 

“What’s up, puddin’ cup?” Lou Ellen asked in an exhale of air, swinging her arms. “You seem irritated. And I know it’s not  _ that _ horrific display--” she gestured to the pair of blushing boyfriends behind them, “--because you should be used to it by now. Something on your mind?” 

 

Darcy huffed, “‘The cat is the beginning’? I have no idea what that means!” She tossed her hands into the air and grunted. “Why would Erecura be out to get  _ me? _ What did I ever do to her-- What cat!?” 

 

“Woooah,” Lou Ellen gently brushed wild strands of white hair from Darcy’s face, revealing her red cheeks and exasperated expression. She patted her cheek with a smirk. “It’s no good freaking out over it, I mean, we don’t really need to know  _ why _ do we? We just need to stop whatever her little plan is. Once we get to camp, we’ll have an entire hill of demigods on our side. Maybe even some to solve your little riddle.” 

 

The daughter of Lyssa begrudgingly shrugged. “I.. I mean, I  _ guess-- _ ” 

“Then stop worrying!” With a twinkle in her eye, Lou Ellen hooked their arms together. “I mean, I know we’re being chased by some crazed Celtic demigod from Celtic hell who for some reason is after you and your brother, but we gotta just keep moving!” 

 

Darcy wished she were that optimistic.

 

“It is odd though,” Lou Ellen continued, staring up at the greying sky above them. “That a cat was the beginning of all of this.” 

  
Darcy nodded, staring at the darkening ground as light rain slowly and quietly began to pelt the dirt. A cat was the start of all of this, then.  _ How… why?  _

She felt a sudden pain as if someone were digging their nails behind her eyes, watching as snippets of memory flashed in front of her. 

 

_ Dillon cried harder, hugging his knees to his chest. The salt in his tears stung his burning cheeks, but Darcy was there, holding him. She was so gentle. He snivelled, taking care as he wiped under his eyes with trembling fingers.  _

 

_ “What happened, then?” Darcy’s voice was so small, so warm. Dillon burrowed his face deeper into his knees, ignoring the stinging pain it caused him. He opened his mouth, then remembered, and snapped it shut again. _

 

A shudder shook through her and Darcy gasped for air, unaware she’d been holding her breath. Lou Ellen looked worriedly at her, but she shook her head and insisted she was fine. 

_ Those weren’t my memories... they were Dillon’s.  _

 

She lifted her fingers and brushed her cheeks, expecting to feel the sting of pain and find them stained red, but she felt nothing. What had happened? Why had he been hurt? Darcy flipped through her memories, cursing herself when she found only muddled washes of colors and patterns which she couldn’t identify. 

The girl made a frustrated noise and pressed clenched fists against her forehead. 

 

_ Remember! ‘The cat is the beginning,’ I just have to remember! _

 

“ _ It’s difficult, _ ” Dillon’s voice echoed faintly in her head. “ _ It’s difficult to remember such awful things. _ ” 

 

 _So?_ _If it will help my friends, then--_

 

“Earth to Darcy? Hellooooo?” Lou Ellen waved and wiggled her fingers in front of Darcy’s eyes, booping her on the nose when she didn’t respond. Darcy blinked and jumped in surprise, quickly clearing her throat and refocusing. 

 

“Hm, what?” Eloquently said.

The devilish grin which defined Lou Ellen’s personality was distracting. “I said we’re almost there. How hard did you space just then?” 

Darcy could only offer a shrug and sheepish smile. She truly hadn’t noticed, she was surprised she hadn’t smashed face first into any trees or wildlife. 

 

Will appeared next to Lou Ellen, Nico following just behind with his hand seemingly caught in a Will Solace shaped vice and his cheeks aflame. Darcy smirked, something Lou Ellen-esque almost. 

 

“Hey,” he greeted, ever the actual sun. “We’re almost there.” 

“So I’ve been told,” Darcy replied plainly, registering a brief flash of panic course through her as she remembered the infirmary and all the pain she must’ve caused. 

A relaxed smile spread across Will’s face and her worries disappeared. They understood, surely.. 

 

“So,” Will continued, blue eyes bright. “Any luck decoding Annabel Lee’s message?” 

Darcy’s stomach welled up with anxiety once more and she shook her head. 

 

“I remembered that Dillon never liked cats, but I don’t know what that could  _ mean _ .” She tugged on her golden ring, frustrated again. 

Nico cleared his throat, less pink in the face now. “Why? I mean, did he have a bad experience with one?” 

Will gave Nico a questioning and amused look. The boy, if he were a cat, poofed up to defend himself. 

 

“I-I’m just trying to help figure this thing out!” His lower lip protruded slightly in a small pout/glare combo and Will raised his other hand defensively, shaking his head in a “I didn’t say anything” way. 

 

_ Bad experience… _ Darcy hardly had time to react when her vision was thrown into Dillon’s memories again. 

 

_ It was cold for a summer day. Dillon flinched when a cool breeze touched his cheeks, still feeling the lingering stings though the cuts were almost healed completely. Darcy had put medicine on them every night for a week…  _

 

_ “Ah, you’ve returned.”  _

 

_ The boy jumped and felt his chest constrict tightly. He was afraid. Darcy had gone to get groceries that morning. Uncle had yet to stir from his slumber. Dillon found himself staring out at the trees behind the house until he suddenly found himself in them, clad in his pajamas and a dirty pair of boots one size too small… _

 

_ “I apologize about before, lad, but what were you expecting, hm? This is meant to be our little secret, I can’t have you blabbing off to your sister, can I?”  _

 

Reeling in and out of memories isn’t a pleasant thing. Darcy stumbled as she was dropped back into her own mind, thankful to Lou Ellen and Nico who caught her by her shoulders and steadied her again. The anxiety in her stomach soured into sickness, and the daughter of Lyssa found herself wanting very much to lie down. 

 

“Bad experience,” she slurred a bit, swallowing and realigning her focus. “I keep seeing things, Dillon’s memories, but it all looks like watercolor to me. He went out into the woods, he was talking to to  _ someone _ \--”

 

“Darce?” Lou Ellen ran a comforting hand up and down Darcy’s arm, speaking softly. “Take a breath first, okay?” 

Darcy did, feeling the adrenaline drain out of her as she released it. Will and Nico also seemed to relax a bit, looking relieved. She apologized, but they both shook their heads. 

 

“You’ve been seeing visions?” Will asked gently. 

“Memories,” Darcy corrected. “They’re Dillon’s. I.. I think he’s trying to help me.”

Lou Ellen: “Dillon, your brother? I thought he was…” Darcy quickly waved the word out of the air and continued on. 

 

“He-He  _ is _ but he’s been speaking to me ever since…” She nibbled along her lip, trying to ignore how tight her chest had gotten. 

Nico noticed her discomfort and gave her a consoling look. “Since… Lyssa’s?” 

She nodded. 

 

“I know it must sound  _ crazy-- _ ” 

“She says to three demigod children on their way to demigod camp being chased by a Celtic goddess of the underworld,” Will deadpanned, an aura of warm orange light blanketing around his skin. 

Nico appeared to agree with his boyfriend, adding, “It’s definitely not the craziest thing I’ve heard in my lifetime,” as he willed shadows to coil up his legs and flare out.

 

The daughter of Hecate held out her palm and shifted the Mist around it, making her fingers look more like reptilian claws. “I  _ have _ heard of crazier things,” she shrugged. Then she reached out her human-looking hand and tugged lightly on a piece of Darcy’s snow colored hair. 

 

“Also pretty sure you were blonde and afraid of scissors before.”

 

Darcy swatted her hand away with an amused huff. Though what had she been expecting? ‘Crazy’ seemed to be highlighted in the demigod job description.

 

“Okay so ‘crazy’ wasn’t the right word. How about ‘unexpected’?” 

The trio in front of her shared a few thoughtful glances and nods before Will, apparently the spokesman of the group, turned back to Darcy and nodded. 

 

“Unexpected.” 

“Right, anyway,” she tucked her hair behind her ear and continued on. “He’s been with me since then, and sometimes he shows me tidbits of his memory. I think he’s trying to help me solve the ‘the cat is the beginning’ riddle, but all the memories are a bit fuzzy and short.” 

 

Lou Ellen shook her hand until it was scale-free. “And this recent one, he was in the woods and talking to someone? Who?” 

“I-I’m not sure, I thought I recognized the voice, but it ended before anything could happen.” 

“And?” Nico prompted. “What did the voice say?” 

Darcy repeated the words, heavying her Irish accent for the full effect, and then shrugged her shoulders. 

 

“I guess Dillon wanted to tell me something and got punished for it, but I don’t know what it was he wanted to tell me.” Thinking of her brother trembling in the woods full of fear of some unknown tormentor sent flames curling in the pit of Darcy’s stomach. Icy blue tendrils rose from her feet and seemed to flicker like Nico’s own dark flames. 

Sensing this, the son of Hades gingerly patted her on the shoulder, face burning. Darcy found the gesture sweet, and calmed the flames until they only charred the ground.

 

“It’ll come to you then,” Lou Ellen said, unconcerned. The rain had stuck strands of hair to her face, but her eyes somehow retained their warmth. She flicked her hand in front of her, pointing. 

 

“Camp!” 

 

With this call, the group hurried their pace until cabins were in their view. Darcy felt a sharp jab in her stomach, and half expected to be tossed into another memory, but her eyes froze on a slumping figure by the infirmary entrance.

Will sped by her in a flash, crying out, 

  
“Hae-Won!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soupella.tumblr.com


	37. Sleep

Hae-Won looked exhausted, and she proved this to Will by near collapsing against him when he approached, breathing heavily. The rain picked up, plastering her dark hair to her cheeks and causing her glasses to fog. 

 

“..si..de..”

“What?”

She coughed and caught her breath before speaking again, slowly. “Let’s...go..inside..” 

 

Will carefully maneuvered the exhausted daughter of Apollo through the infirmary door with help from Nico and Lou Ellen when they caught up. He placed her on one of the beds and went to lay her down, but she irritatingly swatted his hand away from her. 

 

“I’m.. tired… not…  _ broken _ …” she snapped, as well as anyone heaving for air and dripping wet could anyway. Will regarded the dark circles under her eyes and took a respectful (read: terrified) step back. 

Instead, he got her a towel.

 

Darcy entered the infirmary last, quietly and with small steps. Her eyes ran over the room, inspecting it. She didn’t appear satisfied, but relaxed a degree and joined Lou Ellen on the bed across from Hae-Won, standing until Lou Ellen pulled her down next to where she sat. 

Nico decided to stand a ways away from Lou Ellen, and Will took his place next to him, finding small amounts of comfort by being close. Nico failed to hide his pleasure, grinning.

 

“Nice.. to see you two.. getting along..” Hae-Won chuckled, clutching the towel around herself. “You’re both as.. disgusting as I remember.” 

Lou Ellen nodded her head in approval and Nico’s face flamed, small smile dropped. 

 

Will huffed, only slightly offended, but waved it away. “What happened here?” 

 

The dark haired, soaking girl in front of him drew in a heavy breath, smirking with unamused eyes.

“Nothing good, Solace.” She coughed, accepting the glass of water Will offered her, and tilted her head in Darcy’s direction.

 

“I see you’ve found her. Nice hair by the way, it suits you.” 

Will was getting agitated with Hae-Won’s lackadaisy attitude and he knew it, Apparently, as did Nico, judging by the warning gaze of his toffee eyes. He swallowed a sarcastic comment, calming down and meeting Hae-Won’s eyes seriously. 

 

“Moon,” He tried for a grave tone and Hae-Won looked up, sheepish. “What happened?”

 

Her smile faltered, and her eyes flicked to the infirmary beds on the other side of the cabin, their curtains drawn. Will could make out a few shadowy shapes in the beds, and he could hear a few sniffles and snores. There were far more patients now than when he’d left.

Will felt something within him crack like ice, and his veins ran cold. How could he have let this happen? He… 

 

“I.. I shouldn’t have left..” he mumbled, brow furrowed at his own words. It was true, though, wasn’t it? Will counted the beds. The infirmary could only fit about twelve semi-comfortably, and he couldn’t find an empty one. 

Beside him, Nico nudged his shoulder, catching his eyes and melting any argument Will had to offer. 

 

_ If I didn’t go.. Nico would’ve…  _  He saw venomous green eyes and sparks. He could’ve… 

“I’m fine,” murmured the boy to his right. “You’re fine. It’s all fine.” 

“...But--”

Nico hushed him gently. “It’s already happened,” he whispered. “Let’s just focus on the right now, okay?” 

Will nodded, hesitant, and a warm shock traveled through him with Nico threaded his fingers through his. He nodded again and looked back to Hae-Won.  

 

She drew in a shaky breath, setting the glass of water on the side table, standing slowly. Lou Ellen had her arms raised to catch her if she fell, and followed her to the filing cabinet, watching her drop clipboard after clipboard onto the desk beside it. Each making a snapping sound as they hit the others. The patients did not stir at the noise.

 

After a bit of digging, she found the one she was looking for and turned back to the group.

“Clef--” she waved a hand to a bed not far away, “--came in rambling on about something in the forest by the range. She was terrified.” Diligent, Hae-Won plucked out the girl’s clipboard, passing it to Will for inspection. 

 

He read over it carefully. 

 

_ Name: Clef Airelle  _

_ Cabin: 15, daughter of Hypnos _

_ Illnesses/Conditions: Sleep-Wake Syndrome _

_ Symptoms: Short of breath, insomniatic tendencies, paranoia _

_ Doctor’s Note: Considering her SWS, the insomnia is to be expected, but it’s far more severe with the added paranoia. Watch for nightmares. _

 

“‘Short of breath,’” Will repeated, mind already searching through every medical textbook he’d ever read. “Why was she short of breath?” 

 

Hae-Won’s eyes darted away, and she shrugged her shoulders with a resigned, slightly angry sigh. “At first I thought it was just adrenaline-- she ran here to tell us about whatever was in the forest. But she had a nightmare her first night here and couldn’t catch her breath for almost an hour.” 

 

“Sounds like a panic attack.” The blonde puzzled over the symptoms a moment longer, Nico next to him, his breathing somehow calming Will’s own threads of panic. They’d just arrived back at camp, and already something strange was taking place, bringing campers down with it. Not to mention the crazed Celtic Goddess who sent them running back here to begin with.

 

Running. 

 

_ Wait..  _ Will scanned the clipboard a second time.  _ Panic attack, insomnia… paranoia? _

 

Will’s eyes narrowed, and he understood. “She was being chased.”

“So she claimed,” Hae-Won winced, suddenly uncomfortable with the realization. “By giant, evil spiders.” She added the last part with a hint of hesitation, adjusting her glasses nervously.

 

The son of Hades’ head tilted, as if he hadn’t heard properly. “What? Giant spiders?”

Sitting on the bunk, Darcy visibly shuddered and crossed her arms over herself protectively.  

“Like in Harry Potter?” Lou Ellen butted in, excitedly flapping her arms, causing Darcy to stare warily at her.

The daughter of Apollo snapped her fingers and nodded quickly, eyes and voice too serious for the words she claimed. “Yes! Exactly like in Harry Potter!” 

 

_ Giant spiders… paranoia..  _

 

“Did anyone  _ else _ see these spiders?” The blonde dropped the clipboard back onto the desk and glanced at a few of the others, spying for names. 

_ Hanna Hunt… Eloise Turner... Travis Stoll…   _

 

_ Travis..?  _ The hairs on the back of his neck stood up at the idea that somewhere in the room, Travis Stoll lay sleeping. He couldn’t recall the last time Travis was the one in the infirmary, as he and his brother were usually the causes of the injuries he treated. 

 

Shaking her head, Hae-Won relaxed somewhat. “No, according to a few who saw her, she was just sprinting like she was terrified out of her mind… T-Tadashi said he tried to stop her, but it was like she didn’t even see him.” 

 

Will felt something heavy settle in his stomach and he frowned at it. Nico released his hand when he tugged it away, rubbing both over his eyes and watching color bloom behind his eyelids with the pressure. 

 

“And? What about Travis?” The color faded when he opened his eyes again, and it revealed a dark expression on Hae-Won’s face, one he wasn’t expecting. She was biting her lip and staring at the ground, eyes hooded. The son of Apollo hesitated, worried she’d drop of fatigue, but the girl took a deep breath and looked up again. 

 

“We… After hearing Clef out, Dustin and I took off for the woods.,” she rubbed the back of her neck. “Travis was there. He had a weapon aimed at a Demeter kid and a few satyrs. He seemed to think they were someone else.” 

 

Nico peeked from behind Will’s shoulder at the clipboards on the desk. Will moved to block his line of sight, giving him an apologetic look. They were private, after all.. The dark haired demigod gave a small half shrug and turned his head back to Hae-Won. 

 

“Who did he think they were?” The question was innocent enough, but somehow deserved a disturbed frown from the dripping wet Apollo girl with a towel draped around her shoulders. She clenched it with her fist, as if anchoring herself down. 

 

Then she shook her head. 

 

“He refused to say. And I…” Hae-Won locked her gaze with Will’s, as if searching for validity. “I thought it best not to push.” 

Will understood that, thinking of Nico’s first few days in the infirmary. He stopped speaking at one point, but Will still figured that if he wanted to tell, he would, in his own time and on his own terms. 

 

The boy blushed lightly. “Y-Yes, that was probably best.” Nico, evil mind reader that he is, snaked his arms around his boyfriend’s waist, resting his head against his back. Will’s face warmed considerably, and he turned, expecting to see a devious smirk, but only meeting closed eyes and soft breath. 

 

_..Oh _ . 

 

“You’re tired?” He guessed. The younger demigod nodded and hummed. Lou Ellen yawned, stretching her arms out behind her head. Darcy’s eyes were drifting in and out of focus. 

 

“I’d imagine so,” commented Hae-Won. “You’ve been gone for at least a month and a half.” 

 

Will’s heart jerked.  _ A month..? _ That couldn’t possibly be right… 

“Nuh-uh,” Lou Ellen mumbled. “We only slept… like… twice... “ 

 

A wave of exhaustion tackled to son of Apollo then, and he lurched where he stood, catching himself just barely and causing Nico to press harder against his back, groaning in protest. He apologized softly before being overtaken by a yawn. 

 

Hae-Won glanced around at the tiring demigods curiously. “It seems the exhaustion is just now hitting you then… still, I’m not sure how you’ve all been standing. The longest anyone has ever gone without sleep is eleven days.” 

 

Darcy stumbled to her feet then, rocking on her heels as she steadied herself, and took a step in Will’s direction. She seemed to be struggling, but managed to slur out a few words. 

“Th..the palace… ‘member?” She rubbed at her eyes. “The.. pock..pocket?”

Lou Ellen was leaning against the wall, nodding deliriously. “Mm.. yea… the pal...the place.” 

 

Hae-Won tutted, taking Will by the wrist and tugging him toward the door. Trailing behind, Nico, stuttering his steps and muttering against Will’s shirt. 

 

“You can explain in the morning,” she said sternly. Meanwhile, Will was still overwhelmingly sleepy and confused. Places? Pockets? “Hazel hasn’t left yet, she insisted on waiting for Nico to return,” Hae-Won continued, winking at Will. “She’s still in the Aphrodite cabin, though, so Cabin 13 is empty.”

 

“Mmkay,” Will yawned. He wasn’t sure why that was-- 

Nico stretched his arms up and dropped them around Will’s neck, breath tickling the shell of his ear. 

 

“Carry me..” 

 

_..Ah. _

 

“..’Kay..” He struggled with his weight for a moment, too tired to care that his face had gone blossom pink and his skin was emitting a pale rose light. Hae-Won didn’t mention it, letting the group fumble out of the infirmary. The rain had let up, thankfully.

 

Darcy held back, clutching the ends of her shirt and staring blearily at Hae-Won. “..Me?” She asked. 

Hae-Won blinked at her. “Ah, right. I’m sure the Hermes Cabin--”

 

“We have room…” Lou Ellen piped up, sluggishly gesturing for Darcy to follow. “...Cabin 20 won’t mind.” 

Darcy followed without complaint, turtle-like but otherwise complacent. Hae-Won bid them all goodnight before shutting the door. 

 

Will felt Nico’s breath against his neck, the boy already drifting too far. He grumbled, but carried the sleeping son of Hades to Cabin 13, tucked him into the bed, and climbed into one himself. 

  
Sleep captured him in it’s warm embrace as his head hit the pillow. 


	38. Mother Dearest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!!! stuff has been happening, life is the worst, moving on

_ Nico takes another step forward. And another. Where is he going? Judging by how the halls remain unmoved even as he walks, nowhere. There’s a soft ringing in his ears, and he can smell something… sweet?  _

_ Before him, smoke unfurls from the cracks in the floor and coils upward, a slow moving cloak of shadow. Within it, a voice emerges, and he can’t help but wonder if he’s heard it before… _

 

_ “Young demigod,” she said. “You’ve roamed my halls and I have seen your heart.”  _

 

_ The smoke disperses, revealing a tall woman with flowing, dark hair. Her eyes were the color of ash, and her skin was constellated with freckles that reached down her arms and painted her face. She wore a hospital gown.  _

 

_ Nico gazed up at her, and she down at him. Noticing his fixation with her unusual attire, the woman smiled sweetly, and offered, “I am a mother first,” as her explanation.  _

 

_ “I have seen your heart,” she repeated, voice lilac. Flowers bloomed at her feet; “Geraniums,” she sighed. They smelled of lemons.  _

 

_ “Who are you?” Nico found his voice to be almost disembodied from himself, or perhaps the hall was deeper than he imagined and echoes were pulling their tricks. The woman’s eyes glittered as she grinned, taking a step toward him. It was then he noticed she was barefoot.  _

_ More flowers grew and twisted from the floorboards beside her steps. Pinks. And whites. _

 

_ “What--” _

_ “Begonias,” the woman said softly. “They speak of warning.” Her smile never faded. “I have seen your heart!”  _

_ Nico moved to step away, but found that he was rooted to the spot by an entanglement of begonias. “Warning?”  _

_ “Hearts are gardens, I’m very good with gardens.” She placed a slender finger against Nico’s ribs, eyes narrowed as if she were peering into him. “Hm.. heleniums..” she muttered, then her eyes grew wide and bright. “Ah! Hyacinth!”  _

 

_ Nico watched the flowers she named spring from the walls beside them, stretching and reaching and resting across his shoulders and tangling themselves in her hair.  _

_ “I… I don’t--”  _

_ “Lobelia as well..” her voice went cold and Nico couldn’t help but shiver. “This will be from her, then.”  _

_ The woman lifted her other hand, and Nico stared as it began to faintly glow. Begonias burst from beneath them and she glanced down, drawing herself away.  _

 

_ “Begonias again.. but… but I must  _ do _ something!” The flowers shifted in colors and the woman threw up her hands. “If this boy is filled with lobelias, it is no doubt that my daughter suffers the same! I cannot stand by, I refuse!”  _

 

..Daughter…?

 

_ Though his voice suddenly felt hoarse, Nico licked his chapped lips before speaking, “H-Hey… what’s your daughter’s name?”  _

_ Bright yellow flowers sprang from the walls and the woman flinched as they reached for her hair. “Marigolds..” she whispered, fearful, as if they would bring her pain.  _

_ Nico stared at them, something familiar bubbling in his gut. “What do they mean?” His voice was starting to fade, to vanish.  _

_ The woman’s eyes filled with tears. “Grief,” she whispered. “Melancholy. Despair. What does it matter? What does it matter…” She softly began to sob, the overgrown flowers pulling away as if to offer privacy.  _

 

_ “Is your daughter’s name Marigold?” Nico guessed. The woman smiled through her tears, chuckling a bit and shaking her head. “No,” she wiped under her eyes. “No that’s not it.”  _

_ “Then what?” He asked, voice just barely passing his lips.  _

 

_ The woman with her long dark hair tangled with marigolds’ eyes looked awfully faraway. _

 

_ “I… I cannot remember…”  _

_ Her voice wobbled and Nico disappeared. _

 

_ \-- _

 

He awoke to sunlight. It was streaming through an open window and lighting up the room he was in. Room. That’s right, he was back in Cabin 13, wasn’t he.. 

Straining, Nico pushed himself into a sitting position. He was still in the same ripped and tear-ridden clothes from before, his body groaned with every small movement, and his eyes were full of sand. He sighed. 

 

“...g’mornin…” came a muffled, exhausted sounding voice from one bed over. Nico turned his head to see Morning Person Himself buried under four different blankets with his face pressed into the pillow. His hair was wilder than Nico had ever seen it and when he caught the absolute  _ dead _ look in Will’s eyes he couldn’t help himself. He started to laugh. 

 

Will snorted and shoved his face further into the pillow, effectively hiding from his shame. 

 

Nico calmed the laugh to mere giggles, climbing out of bed with a yawn. He looked down to see the blonde’s eyes closed and his breathing slowly going even. A sinister smile toyed onto his face, and Nico held both his arms out, tilting forward. 

 

_ WHUMP.  _ He fell onto Will.

 

The son of Sunshine and Morning Dew made an incoherent complaining sound, squirming under the covers and attempting vainly to shove Nico off, but the younger demigod let gravity do it’s work and pancaked himself to the bed. Will huffed, ultimately defeated, struggling to roll onto his back. Blue eyes found brown. 

A breath. 

 

“I hate you.”

Nico grinned. 

 

“Nooo you don’t.” He rolled off the protesting, bleary eyed boy, making a place laying next to him. Will tossed off his cave of blankets, sitting up and rubbing his fists into his eyes with an obnoxiously loud yawn. Maybe Nico watched him stretch his arms over his head. Maaaybe he didn’t.. 

 

“...Nico?”

“..hm...hm, what?”

The blonde smirked. “As much as I  _ love _ that you’re totally checking me out right now, I was asking what the time was.” He winked and Nico loved it. Curse him. 

 

A pinker Nico tore his attention away from his glowing boyfriend and to the skull shaped clock on the wall. 12:42 PM. “Wow,” He began to climb off the bed himself, refusing all eye contact and attempting to swallow his heart. “It’s pretty much time for lunch.” 

 

Will seemed surprised. “Are you sure? I mean, not all Apollo kids wake at the crack of dawn, but I’ve never missed breakfast before. Huh.” 

“I guess it really has been a month..” Nico and Will shared a small glance, but dropped the subject. They’d touch on that later.

 

After a quick trip to the showers, Nico dressed in the spare clothes he’d packed and Will left for the Apollo cabin to do the same. Alone, Nico found himself staring in the full length mirror beside one of the wardrobes. It was a simple mirror with a black frame, yet the young demigod secretly hoped it was broken somehow. He looked horrible. His eyes looked tired, dark purple bags practically gouged into his skin. At some point, he must’ve bitten into his lip too hard, as it was a little swollen. Of course, he still bore a few cuts and bruises along his arms and legs from trudging through a forest and battling with an enraged phantom, as well.   

But… he was  _ fine _ right? 

 

Nico rolled his shoulders, gauging for any pain.  _ I haven’t faded in awhile at least?  _ He stretched. _ Will isn’t fretting over me that much anymore… That’s good, isn’t it?  _ He poked and prodded at all his bruises, wincing when it got too sensitive.  _..I’m happy we made up quickly… _

Nico pinked again. It was true, though, he wasn’t sure what would’ve happened if they decided to stay the stubborn blockheads that they were… He made a mental note to thank Darcy and Lou Ellen for their meddling. 

 

_...Will.. _

 

Remnants of the dream flitted back into his memory, causing him to jump. 

_ “Ah! Hyacinth!” _

“Who was she…” He remembered dark hair and grey eyes and picture frames-- Nico winced, putting a hand to his chest. His heart was beating furiously, each pulse like a stab in the ribs. 

 

_ “Lobelia as well.. This will be from her, then.”   _ Her voice was echoing, in his head and around it.

 

Lobelias…? 

 

Nico shook his head, running a hand through his wet hair, shakily. He put the dream aside for now, reluctant to not investigate further, but remembering the goings on of the camp and the hallucinating campers and the beasts… Now just wasn’t a time to think about dreams. 

 

He left the cabin in a dark shirt and pair of untorn pants. (They were ridiculously difficult to find, by the way.) His hair was still damp and loose, curling as it brushed his neck, but he started to like it down, strangely enough. Though he could hear Piper nagging about it. 

 

The mess hall was practically empty, save for a few, so it took no time at all for Nico to spot Lou Ellen and Darcy sitting at a table with their plates, talking hushedly to one another. 

 

“D’you think they’re all scared?” Darcy asked the daughter of Hecate as Nico sat across from her. Lou Ellen shook her head and shrugged. 

“Probably. I mean, can you blame them?” 

“Who?” Nico chimed in, swiping a french fry from Lou Ellen’s plate. She gave him a chilling glare.

 

Darcy gestured around at the empty tables. “We even went by the training grounds this morning,” she chewed on her lower lip, looking guilty. “There were only a handful of kids..” 

Lou Ellen, recovered from her fry loss, took a sip of her juice. “It’s like they all holed themselves up in their cabins, terrified.” She said the words as if it were irritating. “Like none of them have ever seen anything worse.” 

 

A small brunette boy stumbled up to the table, followed by a smiling and refreshingly clean Will Solace.

“A-Actually,” Dustin Santiago skittishly piped. “Hae-Won figured.. something out.. about that.”  

 

He awkwardly stood beside the table until Lou Ellen scooched over and offered him a seat. He wasn’t shaking or trembling but seemed very alert to his surroundings, and very put off by the emptiness of the mess hall. Slowly, carefully, he sat down.

Will took his place next to Nico, smelling clean and practically radiating freshness. Nico could count every freckle now that the dirt was washed away and resisted the urge to plunge his fingers in the golden curls which apparently dried almost immediately and were now shimmering. Curse him.

_ Showers are beautiful things, _ Nico thought, swearing to never say those words out loud, and never with Will within earshot. 

 

“Look,” Will giggled quietly, gesturing at his fresh shirt. “Sleeves!” Nico shushed him, fighting the urge to smile and failing.  

 

“ _ Anyway _ ,” Lou Ellen glared at the both of them, eyes like ice but voice like fire. Will cast his gaze away like a scolded child. Nico hurriedly mouthed an apology. 

 

Dustin tugged at his fingers nervously under the table. Darcy watched him thoughtfully before asking, “Where’s Hae-Won?” Her voice was gentle and kind… nothing like Lou Ellen’s. (Nico felt the daggers she called eyes lock onto him with that thought.)

 

The boy didn’t even look up. “Another nightmare beast, towards Cabin 9.” He suddenly acted sure of himself, hands laying motionless in his lap.

“Nightmare beast?” The group shared a series of questioningly looks.

“Hae-Won discovered the hallucinations and paranoia could be the cause of nightmares,” Dustin deadpanned, as if he’d been rehearsing all morning. “Other Hypnos kids mentioned Clef’s worst nightmare was the spiders from Harry Potter. And Eloise Turner, Cabin 4, has a fear of closed spaces, and she was found curled in a ball just outside of the infirmary.” 

 

Lou Ellen bit her thumbnail. “That’s awful.. And so… personal..” 

“What about Travis?” Will interjected, eyes narrowed. “Did you ever find out what he was seeing?” 

 

Dustin stalled, eyes blown wide. He was unprepared for the question, it seemed, and his confidence withered. The smaller son of Apollo lifted his head and shook it, softly muttering, “I-I can’t te-tell you..” 

Will nodded, eyes softening, and let the subject drop. Dustin relaxed again, clearing his throat a bit. 

“H-Hae-Won thinks whatever ‘beasts’ that have been reported may just be one ‘beast’ and that the effects when someone sees it vary due to whatever their worst nightmare is.” His voice again became monotone, as if he were reading off of a script. 

 

“And?” Darcy had her chin in her hands and her elbows on the table, listening politely but eyes glistening with interest. 

Dustin blinked at her, a blush coloring his cheeks. “..A-And?” 

“The beast itself,” the daughter of Lyssa said as if it were obvious. “What does it look like?” 

 

Nico looked to Dustin, intrigued by the question.

Beside him, Will nodded excitedly. 

“Maybe we could figure out what it is if we know what it looks like.” 

 

The mousy brunette shook his head. “Smoke…” He whispered regretfully. “They said it looks like ash-colored smoke..” 

 

_ Ash… _ Nico was reminded of the woman in his dreams, and marigolds and begonias occupied his thoughts. 

 

“One more thing,” Lou Ellen said grimly, staring down Dustin in a way that made the boy visibly shiver. “Hae-Won mentioned something about being gone for a month and a half, but to us it felt like days. A week, tops.” 

 

“I-I..I…” Dustin stuttered, powder blue eyes shining as he struggled for an answer. The poor boy looked terrified. 

 

“I figured that out, actually.” Darcy said the words nonchalantly, almost wistfully. As if she knew and didn’t care but found the information interesting all the same. She looked to the table of wide eyed demigods. Even Nico found himself desperately waiting for an answer, leaning forward in case she whispered it. Dustin quietly removed himself from the table, muttering something about finding Hae-Won before disappearing. 

 

“The pocket universe of Lyssa’s palace. It was autumn when we were there, and summer again when we left the bubble. Erecura mentioned it could also have been a pocket of time, which explained the season change, but what if that wasn’t it. What if we were in the palace for nearly a month before we finally got out?” 

“Like the Lotus Hotel,” Nico regarded faintly. It had been awhile since he last thought about that place… and Bianca.. and how he used to be. 

 

Will nudged his shoulder gently, a curious look on his face. Nico shook his head. Now wasn’t a good time to dwell.

 

Lou Ellen rubbed her hand absentmindedly. “And she also said that someone had to disable that bubble for us to leave. Do you think it was…” 

“Lyssa, probably.” Will finished, hand snaking over to squeeze Nico’s affectionately. “It would explain why the mania were helping us and why they showed me what they did.” 

Darcy’s head cocked. “What did they show you?” 

 

Nico could feel the sudden tension when Will’s grip tightened on his hand. He lowered his eyes and stared at the table, contemplating. 

He struggled for words, “I-I… maybe..  _ not _ here..?” 

 

Darcy smiled though her eyes couldn’t seem to hold it. “It’s fine,” she said, genuine. “I never knew her, so.. it’s fine. You can say it.” 

 

Will didn’t seem sure what to do with that, looking to Nico for an answer, but the darker haired demigod could only give his hand a small squeeze in response. Was it something awful? The Goddess of Madness, Chaos, and Ghosts… it couldn’t have been much else, could it?

Hesitant, Will drew in a deep breath. Darcy nodded in encouragement, Lou Ellen shifted in her seat. 

 

“U-Uh… they took me to the.. hospital.. where you and your brother were born.” He licked his lips, chapped. “Your… your uncle was there with your mom-- with Lyssa, I mean. Annabel Lee said she kept her mortal form for the birth… because she.. uh..” 

“I got it,” the white haired girl said gently, smile fading into a small, thankful grin. Her breath hitched suddenly and she locked her hazel eyes onto Will’s. Nico absentmindedly thought her eyes held more green than before.

 

“You didn’t see… did you see my father?” Her voice betrayed the look of hopefulness on her face, and she looked away again, chewing on her lower lip as if it were more interesting. It wasn’t.

Will’s eyes ran over her softly, and he opened his mouth, but quickly shut it again, thinking better of something. 

  
He shook his head. “No. No, just your uncle. I’m.. I’m sorry.” 

 

Darcy swallowed, waving her hand in the air dismissively and putting on another plastic smile. “I-I wasn’t expecting you to, it’s fine..it’s fine.”  

Nico felt Will’s fingers tighten around his and he leaned into him. He apparently left a few things out in that confession but it was probably for the best. At least, Nico was going to let himself believe that.

 

“So,” He started, looking around at the demigods at the table. “What do we do about Erecura? Could the smoke monster be her doing?” 

“Possibly,” Lou Ellen agreed, chewing thoughtfully. “She  _ was _ chasing us, last time I checked. Not that I have any idea why.” 

“We found her out,” Will piped, voice a little hushed as if he thought she could be listening. “The mania warned us she can’t be trusted.” 

 

Darcy pushed hair behind her ears, nodding, “Plus we all felt her watching us, didn’t we? As we were leaving the woods.. oh gods.. she must know that we know.” 

Her tone grew very grave, and Darcy’s face looked very blank. “She knows, she wants to kill us, she  _ knows _ .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wellll you're not wrong Darcaloo buuuuut not quite right either... <3
> 
> ALSOOO i added a little 'update' bit on my blog so if im going to be gone/cant write for any reason i'll make a post and you can find it there!! (soupella.tumblr.com , to the right in p big letters just hover over it!)


	39. Cóiste Bodhar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!! i've been productive the past two days so here!!  <3 thank you so much for the comments and kudos you guys have no idea how much it means to meeeee

****

“Will.”

“Hm?”

“I had a dream last night.”

 

The woods along the outer edge of camp offered plentiful shade, not that Will or Nico needed any of it. Clouds, hung densely overhead, grey and trembling with the sporadic bursts of wind, threatened rain. According to Hae-Won, the weather has been like this for awhile. She didn’t act too concerned, but Will could feel something heavy settling against his stomach. 

Per her request, Will obliged to circle camp a few times, keep campers away from the woods and report any smoke monster sightings. Nico mumbled his assistance and tagged along. He’d been stuck in his own head for the first half hour, Will nearly jumped when he spoke. 

 

“Dream?” He twirled his bow in front of him like a baton. Or a warrior staff, sure. “Good dream or bad dream?” If Nico had had a bad dream, Will surely hadn’t heard it happen. 

Nico struggled with the question, settling on, “A weird dream.” 

 

Will smirked, leaning over and resting his cheek against his boyfriend’s shoulder, blinking bambi eyes at him. “Was I in it?” 

“No,” Nico smiled easily at him. “No,  _ il mio amore _ . Actually it was a woman.” 

“Egads!” The blonde pulled himself away and dramatically set a hand over his heart, feigning hurt. “Of all the things I thought might separate us, a  _ woman! _ ” 

 

Grinning, Nico rolled his eyes and kicked at his feet, effectively tripping him. Will stumbled and faked a glare, but his resolve crumbled and he found himself claiming one of the son of Hades’ hands. 

“A woman, eh?” 

“Yes,” Nico blew out a heavy sigh. “It was strange. She was strange, she said she could see my heart and kept listing off flowers.” 

Will straightened his shoulders. “Wait, was this a  _ dream _ dream or a vision-like dream?” 

“Well I can’t see the future, Solace.” 

“You know what I mean.” 

 

Nico shrugged a bit. “Maybe? It felt surreal and I could smell the flowers and everything. And she looked so familiar…” He relived the dream for Will’s sake, but the end result was the same confused conversation. 

 

“She said she could see your heart?”

“She said there were flowers in there,” Nico said, frustrated. Will puzzled over that for a moment, silence swelling between them, before he asked, 

 

“What kind?” 

“What?”

“What kind of flowers?”

“Pfff… um, heleni.. heleniums? And hyacinth.” He shrugged. “I don’t know flowers, so I’m not sure exactly what--”

 

“Aha!” Will suddenly snapped, causing Nico to jolt. “Hyacinth comes from the story of Hyancinthos.” 

At Nico’s blank and slightly bemused expression, Will went on. “Apollo and Hyacinthos were together, and they were throwing a discus back and forth until it struck Hyacinthos and killed him.” 

 

In a whispery, horrified voice, Nico said, “Your dad killed his boyfriend with a frisbee?” 

Will giggled and had to force back full on laughter. (This was no laughing matter, after all.) Through teary eyes he added, “Some say the wind god Zephyrus loved him too and made the discus hit him out of spite.” He rubbed his eyes dry, smirking. “Ahhh, gods, but yea his blood became the hyacinth flower. 

Maybe the woman in your dream saw me, certified son of Apollo, in your heart full of hyacinths.” Will raised his eyebrows suggestively and bit his lip, smirking and having too much fun.

 

Nico blushed and it was beautiful, in a way that pink roses on grave stones were beautiful. Will relished in it for a moment, nosing behind his ear until he turned his head, they both stopped walking, and then he was kissing him. Their lips were moving and Will could feel his heart in his throat and Nico tasted like sleepy Sunday mornings. It was warm and amazing and sent sparks of fire racing around Will’s entire body, his hands moving themselves to tangle his fingers in the boy’s long, dark hair. Nico hummed and Will felt himself buzzing with  _ yes gods nothing could ruin this moment. _

It stopped when Nico tugged himself away, catching his breath with his gorgeous baby brown eyes hooded. Will smiled and rested his forehead against his. 

He laughed, finally catching his own breath. “Oh  _ really? _ ” 

Nico’s grin broke into soft giggles, and it made his heart grow wings and flutter them against his ribcage. 

“So,” Nico began walking again, pulling Will, ever so lovestruck, by the hand. “What about heleniums?”

 

Will, having had to force his attention back to the conversation, cleared his throat and picked up his pace to keep up. “No clue. We could ask someone from Cabin 4 if you want.” 

Nico nodded once. “Yea, later.” He squeezed Will’s hand rather tightly and bored his eyes into Will’s. Will felt a flare of heat rush to his face but he didn’t know what for. 

 

“We’re never playing frisbee,” the son of Hades said seriously. Will nodded and put a hand over his heart. 

“Scout’s honor. Never.” 

 

The two of them laughed and fell into easy conversation that left Will’s cheeks warm and his chest fluttery. As Nico dipped in between English and Italian as if he wasn’t doing it on purpose, Will’s mind wandered back to the flushed face of a shorter-haired Nico. One who crossed his arms a lot and hid under the infirmary bed sheets and hardly spoke a word to Will during his first week under ‘doctor’s orders.’ Will had seen nightmares and secrets and darkness, and now he watched Nico sheepishly admit to being caught by Hazel just after lunch and earning an earful from the unassuming daughter of Pluto. 

 

“She appeared out of nowhere, though I really should have seen her coming, emeralds were popping out from her feet out of anger..” He ran a hand through his long, dark hair and Will fought the urge to ask an Aphrodite kid to braid it for him. 

 

Swallowing a sigh, Will ran his thumb over Nico’s hand. “Hey Nickles.”

“Don’t call me that,” Nico turned his head but Will could still see the blush poke out on his ears.

“Neeks-a-doodle.”

“Wh-what? Stop.”

“St. Nicholas.”

“Santa Claus?”

Bowing now, “His Majesty, the Ghost King.” 

Supremely flustered, “STOP, what is it? What do you want, Solace?” 

 

Will felt a breeze pick up and shivered, staring at the darkening sky. “Your dream,” he said. “You never finished telling me.” 

Nico blinked, surprised, but only shrugged in response. “I don’t think it’s all that important.” 

The son of Apollo tugged impatiently on Nico’s hand, pouting. He tried his hand at puppy eyes, pleased at the burst of color that shot into the other boy’s cheeks and the mumbled, “Fine.”

 

“Well… she started walking toward me and begonias appeared. She said they meant ‘warning.’”

“That’s suspicious,” Will mused, then hushed himself and gestured for Nico to continue. 

 

“She said my heart carried lobelias, she said something about her daughter suffering the same thing--”

“Daughter?” Will interrupted again. 

Nico nodded. “I asked about her, and marigolds popped out everywhere, it was kind of scary.”

“And what do marigolds mean? Did she say?”

His eyes dropped and he glanced away. “Grief and despair,” he blew out a sigh and lifted his head. “She said she’d forgotten her daughter’s name. Then I woke up.” 

 

_ A woman speaking in flower riddles?  _ It was the first time Will had heard of it.  _ I don’t think Demeter would have a reason to talk to Nico… so who…? _

 

“Will.” Nico spoke roughly but hushed, his eyes trained on a shadowy figure ahead of them. Will took in his surroundings; they’d ventured a little farther than they should have from camp, but the figure didn’t seem interested in where they came from. They didn’t move. 

 

“B..Be..” Their voice was small, shaky, but the figure was tall. “Be.. beg..”

Will turned his head to Nico, about to suggest they should hitch it back to camp, but his wide eyes and agape mouth stopped him. Recognition. 

 

Nico got a hold of himself, swallowing, and squinting his eyes at the figure. They inched away from him. 

 

“You…?”

“B-beg-begonias!” 

He clutched at Will’s shirt. “Will, that’s her. The woman.” 

 

As if being introduced, the figure stepped forward and the shadows fell away like sheets, revealing a slender framed woman with spiraling, black hair and freckled skin. Her eyes darted from the way she came and the camp just behind the two demigods. She was hunched, as if making herself small, and nervously wringing her hands.

She looked oddly  _ human _ , despite every fiber in Will’s demigod blood screaming at him that she held a lot of power. 

 

“Begonias... “ The woman whispered again, urgently, and directed at Nico. The son of Hades cast a frightened glance to Will and he felt his heart sink.

 

_ Begonias. Warning. _

 

The woman was nodding, as if she heard Will’s panic. She put a thorn scratched hand beside her mouth to hide her words, and hissed, “Lobelias!” 

 

“What do you mean?” Nico asked, eyeing the woods with uncertainty. His hand traveled to his hip and gripped his Stygian iron sword. Will’s grip on his bow tightened, scanning through the trees. Something definitely felt… off about them. 

 

Making sounds of frustration, the woman scuttled forward hesitantly, eyes darting from the two demigods to the woods behind her. A strong wind blew and caused her to jump with a startled, doe-like expression and shiver. 

Will took a small step closer, and Nico’s hand shot out and caught his arm. His eyes were glazed over with warning, but Will gently shrugged him off with one of his ‘it’ll-be-okay’ grins. Nico grimaced and reluctantly began to follow.

Up close, the woman seemed even more skittish, muttering and mumbling words to herself Will couldn’t identify as English or Greek. Her eyes sank in and out of the present, glazing over one second and becoming intensely focused the next. They were ash colored.

 

_ Long dark hair… ash colored eyes… _

 

“...hospital gown..” Will suddenly felt like an idiot. How had he not noticed before?

 

Beside him, Nico made a questioning face, and ahead, the woman shuddered at another mere breeze. Her hospital gown was torn, but it was still the same from back then. Her hair was a little longer, and her eyes a little sadder, but there was no mistaking it. 

 

“The Goddess Lyssa,” Will breathed, while Lyssa shot her head up in alarm. She narrowed her eyes at him, and suddenly her vision cleared and her shoulders relaxed. 

 

“Son of Apollo,” Even her voice took on a new form; softer, calmer, sweeter. Her lips curved into an elegant smile. “The hyacinths.” 

 

Ignoring Nico’s mumbled protests and heated cheeks-- though Will  _ definitely _ had plans for that later-- he dropped his voice low and asked, “Are you here to see Darcy?”

 

“Darcy,” Lyssa parroted, eyes blank. “Darcy? Dar-cee…” Something akin to recognition sparkled in her eyes for only a second before it was snuffed out. Slowly, she shook her head, expression somber and confused. “No…” 

 

Will and Nico shared a glance. Did Lyssa not know her own daughter’s name? Nico gave a subtle shake of his head. 

_ Leave it alone for now… _

 

“A warning?” Will continued, though his stomach turned from dismissing Darcy like that. Hadn’t the mania mentioned watching Darcy and her brother at Lyssa’s request? 

 

The Goddess pursed her lips and nodded seriously, flicking a long finger toward the wood. “She’ll arrive soon,” she whispered ghostily. “The Celtic Goddess with the thorn filled heart.” She drew in her hand quickly again, peering close and inspecting a drop of water that fell onto her nail. 

 

“Ah,” she looked up. “The Storm.” 

 

The rain began its descent gradually, freckling Will and Nico with icy drops. The boys mimicked the Goddess in front of them, raising their chins to the looming clouds overhead. Thunder rumbled at them. 

 

“Will.”

Will dropped his eyes to Nico, who stared ahead at the space of air the Goddess Lyssa once occupied. In her place, something broke free from the soaked dirt and bloomed a bright yellow. The son of Apollo carefully found Nico’s gaze again, and the dark haired boy shuddered. 

 

“Darcy.” His eyes had gone glassy and faraway.

“We need to get back to camp,” Will put a gentle but firm hand on Nico’s shoulder to reel him back into reality. “We need to warn everyone.  _ Darcy. _ ” 

At the name, Nico returned again, meeting Will’s gaze with a fiery look. 

 

The sprint back to camp filled Will to the brim with adrenaline and chomped at his nerves. Every snap of a twig and crunch of grass shocked his heart and widened his eyes. How soon was soon? What if it was too late? What if when they strode back into camp, they’d find nothing but ashes? 

 

“Will!” Nico shouted over the roar of the wind in their ears.

“Hm.” 

“Focus!” 

 

_ Right, focus.  _ If this was to be an all out war against the Celtic Goddess, how would Half-Blood Hill fare? Will flashbacked to the battle of Gaea, how many campers got wounded, and worse yet the ones he couldn’t--

Nico sharply slapped him on the back of the head as they ran. 

 

“I said  _ focus _ , Solace. Not overthink.” 

 

Will felt a tiny surge of love swell from his heart to his throat, and he nodded once and focused on getting to camp. 

 

\--

 

Whatever small life remained in the woods bordering Camp Half-Blood fled or chilled to ice as the Goddess passed. Ice crystals attempted to form under her feet, but crumbled into dust. Ashes to ashes, then.

 

This would’ve all worked out if she hadn’t  _ lost the damned pearls _ . 

 

_ A’course I hadn’t taken Little Miss Living into account, had I? _ Erecura stepped on a withered flower with a satisfying crunch.  _ Nooo, ‘course not. If I had, those brats would be bobbing face down in the Irish Sea and not at this bloody  _ camp _. _

 

Lyssa stole her prize from her once already, and just when Erecura thought she could even the score by taking not just one, but  _ both _ her children, the mad little goody goody had to muck it all up! She snatched the pearls and used the opportunity to force them to split up, then sent her bats out to warn the suckers, that  _ cheat! _

  
_ No matter, _ she thought coolly, breathing in and leveling her head.  _ Like she could stop me as she is now. Likewise for those wee demigod pups.  _ A grin stitched across her features.  _ Hope you’re ready, kiddies. The  _ _ Cóiste Bodhar stops for no mortal. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***NOTICE: im not Irish so all of my references and language comes from translators and multiple credible websites, i always check MANY times that something is correct before writing it, but sometimes that doesn't always work, so if you recognize any mistakes, feel free to comment or send me a message on tumblr telling me what's up!!
> 
> likewise for any spelling errors!! c: thank you for reading<3


	40. Familiar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im not sure how i feel about the title aaaah ///

Hae-Won looked at the small heap of bandages on the floor, accompanied by one white haired demigod and her daughter of Hecate companion. She sighed.

Truthfully, Hae-Won didn’t need any more bandages. There were like, dozens of boxes in a storage shed out back, but so help her she was  _ weak. _ The two had watched Will and Nico march off with forlorn looks before casting those looks her way and effectively causing her heart to twinge. 

 

“Anyway we can help?” Lou Ellen had asked gently. Beside her, Darcy had nodded in a determined way. 

And Hae-Won was weak. Maybe it was the romance novels. 

 

The way Darcy held scissors was amusing; too tightly and with the wrong fingers. She seemed comfortable though, grinning proudly as the bandages fell cleanly to the floor. At some point, Lou Ellen made a game of it, and whoever cut the most in two minutes got to ask anything from the loser, and they weren’t allowed to refuse. (Hae-Won had blushed; maybe it was the romance novels.)    
In any case, Darcy won and secured her prize of a high five from a rather sulky Lou Ellen. 

 

Rain fell hard outside. Hae-Won thought of Will and Nico and fought back a smirk.  _ Must be soaking _ . 

She turned back to her assistants.

 

“That’s enough bandages for now,”  _ or forever, y’know, whatever. _ “Thanks for all your help.” She made sure to add a smile to the last part, to make it seem genuine. 

“Of course,” Darcy said, setting her scissors aside and gathering up the bandages. She unsteadily stood up, and hesitated, biting her lip. “Where should I…?” 

 

Hae-Won flicked her hand toward one of the cleaner desks with a shrug. Smiling again, Darcy cheerily walked over and dropped the pile messily on the desk. Looking (and likely feeling) accomplished, the girl spun around to face Hae-Won again, her hand up in a mock salute. 

 

The daughter of Apollo smothered an eye roll and saluted back. She wasn’t all bad, honestly. She was polite, if not a little soft spoken, and ever since her return, she appeared to be happier. Hae-Won imagined her health had improved as a result. She’d have to ask Will later.

 

With the bandages done, the pair fell into easy conversation; to be quite honest, Hae-Won wasn’t paying much attention. She fell back into her chair at the desk nearest to the window, resting her eyes on the clipboards piled in front of her. She stared, but couldn’t bring herself to touch them. 

 

The case was disturbing. The very idea of some nightmare inducing smoke beast vividly showing someone their worst nightmare made Hae-Won’s spine tingle. What would the beast show her if she found herself alone with it?

 

No, honestly, she couldn’t think of anything, this was a serious question. 

 

“Curiouser and curiouser…” Mumbled Darcy, who had crawled on top of an empty bunk and stared out the window. Streams of water raced along the pane, and she traced her finger along the wet trails. 

“What is it, Alice?” Lou Ellen called from where she lay on the floor, arms crossed behind her head with one ankle across the other. 

“I just… I  _ love _ rain,” Darcy replied in a voice that suggested she did not in fact love rain. “But this feels so odd.” 

 

It..  _ had _ been raining for several days now nonstop… Hae-Won felt something stir in her stomach and she had the feeling of being carsick. Something was odd indeed.

 

“Odd?” Lou Ellen asked, though Hae-Won barely caught the words. “How?” 

Darcy shook her head. She opened her mouth, and half a sound came out before she snapped it closed again. 

“What?” The daughter of Hecate prompted, warily glancing at the window as the wind picked up and whistled through the cracks. 

“It’s…” She bit her lip. 

 

“ _ Familiar _ .”  

 

\---

 

The rain fell hard and fast, cutting through Nico’s skin like ice and blurring his eyes. Mud splashed onto his pants and soaked into his shoes, freezing his toes, but still he sprinted through to camp. Will had broken off, promising to take the message to Chiron and leaving the evacuation of an entire camp of demigods to Nico.

 

Awesome.

 

Lyssa’s image had been seared into Nico’s mind. She reminded him of Darcy, though they looked nothing alike; the goddess with her waved, dark locks, and Darcy with her snowy hair. Even though it used to be sandy blonde before, they still looked significantly unique. 

_ Except her eyes _ , he thought.  _ They looked like Darcy’s eyes. _

 

That odd sense of emptiness in them reminded Nico of his first introduction to the daughter of Madness. Distant, a sort of shell of who she must’ve been before. 

 

_ Sounds familiar _ , said the annoying voice of one certain son of Apollo. 

_ Shutup, I know _ .

 

Nico made a beeline to the infirmary. The storm hung over the camp heavily, dousing it with a spooky sort of atmosphere. If Nico hadn’t seen worse, he might’ve shivered. 

 

Clambering (slipping) up the stairs, Nico tried the door and found it locked. With a small curse, he knocked on the door loudly, realizing how cold and wet he actually was. Lightning lit the sky and scattered the shadows of the cabins, a roll of thunder following shortly after. 

Lou Ellen was probably out of her mind terrified. 

 

Nico pounded his fist against the door again, pressing his ear against it. He was sure they were inside… right?

“..Hae-Won?” He called, knocking a little lighter this time. “Let me in, something’s happe--”

 

The door was sharply pulled away from him and he stumbled inside, tripping gracefully over his slippery sneakers and crashing onto the floor with a reverberating  _ THUMP _ . Nico moaned, pushing himself back to his feet and looking up at Hae-Won; her eyes narrowed as if she were unimpressed but the way she was nibbling on her lip and gripping the door handle with white knuckles revealed how truly anxious she was.

Nico was assaulted with the memory of how cruel he was to her and felt his chest tighten. He still hadn’t had the chance to apologize… 

_ Later, _ he promised. 

 

Helping him to his feet was Darcy, a concerned and bewildered look on her face. A few paces behind her stood Lou Ellen, surprisingly calmer than Nico expected, though she twiddled her thumbs and kept tossing nervous glances to the window.

 

“Nico?” Darcy whispered, hazel eyes scanning his face. Hae-Won shut the door, locking it with a few muttered prayers. “Nico, what happened? Where’s Will?” 

 

“There’s something coming isn’t there..” Hae-Won anxiously pushed her hair behind her ears, beginning to pace. 

Nico nodded. “How do you know that?” 

She waved a hand toward her midsection. “I’ve been known to be more prophetically inclined than my siblings.” 

 

“Nico,” Lou Ellen’s voice cracked from panic. “Is it… her?” 

Another nod. 

“Who?” The daughter of Apollo demanded, her expression equal parts fierce and fearful. Nico explained the best he could, leaving out Dillon and the phantom battle. Hae-Won listened intently, and nodded when he was finished. 

 

“Where’s Will?” Was her question.

The son of Hades ignored the surge of panic that automatically bubbled in him, reassuring himself that Will was fine. “He went to Chiron. We have to evacuate camp.”

“You know half of the campers here aren’t just going to leave,” Lou Ellen scoffed, running a hand through her hair. “Goddess or not, no one here can ever just back down from a fight.” 

 

“We’re not prepared,” mumbled Hae-Won. “Not since Gaea. Most of our capable fighters are in New Rome, anyway. Jackson and Chase included.”

 

Nico felt his blood run cold and he cursed. It was obvious they couldn’t run, Erecura had proven her tenacity by chasing them this far for reasons no one was even plainly sure about. What choice did they have but to fight? 

He shook his head. Now wasn’t the time. 

 

“We need to focus on getting the younger campers out of here. Somewhere safe, somewhere Erecura can’t touch them.” 

Lou Ellen snapped her fingers, heading toward the cabin door. “I got it! I’ll handle the kids, Darcy can--”

 

“I’m staying.” 

 

Her voice was sharpened to a point and practically dropped the temperature in the room a few degrees. She wasn’t glaring at Lou Ellen, but rather held a sort of pleading look in her eyes. Determination. Darcy was determined to stay and it was obvious no one would be able to talk her out of it.. 

Lou Ellen took the challenge, eyes soft. 

 

“Darcy--”

“No,” she said again, balling her hands into small fists. “I have to stay, Lou. It’s my fault. It’s my fault she’s here, and I’m gonna take care of it.”

 

As noble as her words were, Darcy’s chin trembled and she made a sound like a half whimper. Annoyed with herself, she scrubbed her eyes until they were red and raw but tearless, and smiled at the daughter of Hecate. 

 

“I’ll be okay, Lou. Promise.” 

Lou Ellen hesitated at the door, and Nico glanced away when he noticed her own lip trembling. She quickly marched forward and hugged Darcy around the neck, catching her off guard and causing her to stumble backwards. 

“..You better not be lying to me, Darce.” 

 

She pulled away just as swiftly and turned her face away, drawing in a deep breath. As she reached for the cabin door a second time, Darcy gave her a small nod and a dorky half wave. Lou Ellen tried to smile, failed, and left the infirmary with an expression Nico hadn’t seen before.

 

A moment passed before Hae-Won looked to Nico. 

“How did you know Erecura was coming?” 

 

Nico swallowed, eyes stealing a look at Darcy but quickly reconnecting with Hae-Won. There was no use hiding it, was there?

“We ran into… Lyssa. Darcy’s mother.” 

 

Darcy’s eyes widened in surprise, but she said nothing. Nico continued. 

 

“She appeared to me in a dream last night, but I couldn’t understand half of what she was saying. She mentioned several flowers, but they didn’t mean anything to me, but she looked so familiar. It was the portrait, Darcy. From Lyssa’s palace, the one she disappeared from. That’s where I’d seen her before.

She showed up again when me and Will were circling camp. She said that ‘the Celtic Goddess with the thorn filled heart’ was coming. Then she looked up, mentioned something about a storm, and vanished again.”

 

“Did she mention anything about me?”

Nico’s heart clenched, but he couldn’t lie to her. Not after everything. “No. We mentioned your name, but she didn’t seem to understand… I’m sorry, Darcy.”

 

The snowy haired girl nodded slowly, digesting this. “Well,” Her mouth smiled, but not her eyes. “We  _ were _ young, weren’t we?... I don’t know why I--... It doesn’t matter…” 

Nico nodded and let the topic drop. He was well acquainted with the feeling of being forgotten… his mouth suddenly tasted like pomegranates and he forced his thoughts elsewhere.

 

“She remembered you though… didn’t she..” Darcy’s voice was soft and bitter. Nico could only nod again. The girl hummed. 

 

Hae-Won, seemingly lost in thought until now, adjusted her glasses and sighed. “No mention of those smoke things?”

“None,” Nico answered. “Do you think they belong to--”

“Erecura?” Hae-Won finished. She shook her head. “Doubtful. They induced nightmares based on fears, that doesn’t sound like a Goddess of the Underworld sort of power. It sounds more like a--”

“Goddess of Madness, Chaos, and Ghosts sort of power?” Darcy monotoned. 

The daughter of Apollo gave a stiff nod. “Probably trying to connect with Nico in his dreams, to warn him.”

 

Nico absorbed the idea.

“Maybe they’ll help us?” Offered Hae-Won. “Who knows what fun little bag of horrors your Celtic goddess has in mind. A few nightmare beasts would come in handy.” 

 

The son of Hades wasn’t sure he believed that, but he didn’t mention it. When was the last time a god or goddess helped demigods? With anything? 

 

 _Then again_ , he thought. _Lyssa_ did _travel after us to warn us of Erecura’s coming._ _She was probably behind the bubble verse and the pearl snatching, too..._

Nico rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hands, suddenly feeling exhausted. This was really happening… wasn’t it… 

 

All three demigods jolted when the door was flung open and Will fell inside, shivering and wet to the bone. (Hae-Won: “I locked that door.” Will: “Aaa-and I br-broke it.” Hae-Won: “And you broke it.”)

 

Darcy silently helped the blonde to his feet, setting him on one of the bunks and throwing a duvet around his shaking shoulders. His teeth were chattering loud enough for Nico to hear the clicks, but the boy tried talking anyway. 

  
“Fff-fou-found-d pe-people t-to hel-elp-p…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!! i've decided to take this week (my spring break) for myself! c: i'll probably still be writing, but significantly less than before, and there won't be an update during this time!! sorry i just really need a break right now and if i get the urge to write i promise i will, but i won't force myself <3 
> 
> how are you guys feeling about this development? do you like it? is it decent enough?? all feedback is appreciated!! you know where to find me if you have questions~


	41. Reinforcements

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiya

Gods, if there was anything Will was grateful for more than Nico it was probably Hae-Won’s hot chocolate. 

 

They’d bundled him up, Nico gave him his jacket the ol’ sap, and Hae-Won disappeared for a few minutes, returning to shove a warm styrofoam cup into Will’s shivering hands. He shot her a dubious look, and she returned his gaze with a bemused expression, gesturing at the cup with a flick of her hand.  _ Drink it. _ He took a small, hesitant sip.

Will debated if ambrosia could even stand  _ next _ to the rich, milky chocolate drink. It seemed to warm him instantly, and Will noticed his shoulders fall, though he’d been unaware he was tensing them. Another gulp and Will’s head felt airy and he could make out a fluttering in his chest. 

 

He whined when Hae-Won pulled the glorious potion away before he could down the rest. 

 

“You said you found people to help?” Hae-Won dumped the beverage down one of the sinks, and Will involuntarily flinched. “But what did Chiron say? Does he seriously plan on taking on a Goddess?”

 

Will drew in a breath and told them. 

 

\--

 

Will panted, ignoring the ache in his lungs from breathing in such cold air so rapidly. Chiron’s office wasn’t too far away, but in the pouring, icy rain it might as well have been miles farther. 

 

Nico had given him a serious looking nod when he told him his plan, it set Will’s teeth on edge, knowing how grave the situation actually was and how lives could be on the line. Nico’s life. Darcy’s. Lou’s.

Surely they weren’t going toe to toe with a Celtic Goddess of the  _ Underworld _ , were they? Will remembered how tough it was for everyone after the battle with Gaea; how many kids came to the infirmary with symptoms of PTSD, how he stayed there all night with them, how many more came in the morning in tears over a vivid nightmare… how many were pulled in by friends with cuts on their arms and legs and refused to meet Will’s gaze… 

Lives were lost during the battle with Gaea, and it was ignorant to think living the way demigods do doesn’t come with a few nasty inconveniences… Campers lost friends. Siblings. Will lost patients.  _ Olan Hue, Henrietta Bentley, Caspar and Wendy Banks… _

 

Camp Half-Blood was in a dire state after that horrific event, and, like all wounds, needed time to heal. 

Well obviously, time was running out.

 

The door to the head cabin was blissfully unlocked when Will scurried inside. A fire in the fireplace and the smell of fresh coffee added a calmness to the air which bittered Will’s expression. 

 

“Mr. Solace?” 

 

Chiron’s voice was gentle and reverberated through the room. Will turned his head, meeting the centaur’s eyes and noting how somber they seemed. Tired.

 

“Is something the matter?” 

 

Will couldn’t stop the flush of shame that crawled up his neck. He suddenly felt very guilty, barging into his office unannounced. 

Chiron broke into a knowing grin, waving his hand dismissively.

 

“It’s quite alright, Will.” His smile quickly faded. “Something’s wrong, isn’t there?” 

 

Will swallowed. “Y-Yes.” 

 

He spared no details, not this time. Chiron nodded along as Will sputtered through the tale. The quest, Darcy, phantoms, Lyssa, Erecura, the cabin, the mania, shadow beasts, nightmares-- all of it. And Chiron listened intently, without interruption, waiting until Will had finally finished before speaking. 

 

“From what I know,” hummed Chiron, “Which is very little, mind you, is that this Celtic Goddess is not all-powerful. No God or Goddess is; Greek or Celtic alike. That isn’t to say,” he continued hastily, “That she isn’t a powerful being.”

 

Will nodded, chewing his lower lip out of nerves. He hadn’t been expecting it to be easy, though, had he?  _ Nothing ever is, is it _ .. 

 

“How do we stop her?” He could hear the shakiness in his voice and softly cursed to himself.  _ Just the adrenaline… _

“If she is that intent on causing harm as you said,” Chiron scratched his chin thoughtfully. “I imagine simply talking to her won’t work.” 

 

“What about Apollo?” Will was grasping at straws. Chiron watched Will carefully. 

“Apollo is…” 

The blonde shook his head. “Right… right..” 

“Ah, in any case,” the centaur continued, “I don’t believe this requires any godly assistance.” 

“What do you mean?” 

 

Chiron’s eyes glistened and he winked. “You’re all so much more powerful than you know. Have I taught you nothing?” 

 

\--

 

It took some serious convincing to get everyone to move from the warmth of the infirmary out into the rain. Hae-Won was especially irritated, and for some reason Nico kept apologizing to her when she complained of how cold she was. He looked guilty. Odd. 

 

They all managed to regroup in one of the newer cabins, Cabin 19. Meant for children of Tyche, it was yet to be occupied, but fully furnished. Will made a note to never underestimate the Hephestus cabin’s skills. 

Now, the cabin served as the planning room. (Tyche, being the goddess of luck, would hopefully send some of that fortune their way…)

 

“How many did Chiron say were volunteering?” Hae-Won questioned.

The blonde son of Apollo shook his head. “He didn’t say.” 

 

The group stepped up to the door to the cabin, each with a different look in their eyes. Darcy appeared… anxious. Hae-Won and Nico held a different degree of seriousness. Will gulped and reached for the door.

 

Demigods. Dozens of them. Many were squished together sitting on bunks or huddled close by the wall. Clarisse had plenty of room, unsurprisingly. As did Piper. Frank stood next to Hazel, far away enough for her to have room, though that left him being pushed against other campers with an apologetic expression. 

 

“Nico!”

“Wha--”  _ WHAM _ . 

 

Will blinked and Nico was on the floor, his sister wrapped around him in the biggest bear hug Will had ever seen. He was impressed by her strength. 

 

Hazel seemed to be struggling with her features, grimacing and glaring at Nico one second before dissolving back into a puppy faced grin. Nico flushed at her, reaching up to gently pat her head. 

 

“Hazel.” 

“Hm?”

“Get off me.” 

“No.” And she squeezed tighter.

 

After much coaxing from Piper, the daughter of Pluto reluctantly released her hold on her brother, crossing her arms over her chest with a small huff. Nico grinned at her. She stuck her tongue out at him. 

 

“So,” Chiron’s booming voice brought the idle chatter to an end, every head swiveling to give him their attention. He clasped his hands together and nodded to Will and Nico. “Have we got a plan?” The heads turned on the two of them then, and both boys swallowed.

 

At their uncomfortable length of silence, Chiron waved his hand. “Nevermind. I shouldn’t have asked.” 

Nico rubbed the back of his neck, clearing his throat, a light shade of crimson spreading across his cheeks. All eyes landed on him. 

 

“U-Uh…”  _ So eloquent. So smooth. _ “Our mission is to protect camp.” 

 

“From what?” A young, bright eyed camper covered in freckles and battle scars asked. Nico’s shoulders fell. 

 

“A.. uh… a goddess by the name of Erecura.” 

 

“A goddess?”

“Did he say goddess?”

The room murmured, and Will gave Nico a small thumbs up. The boy was obviously uncomfortable. At the gesture, Nico’s features relaxed and he smiled. Will felt his heart stumble and his face warm.  _ Well now is certainly not the time _ . 

 

“Sh-she’s after me.” 

 

Darcy’s hands were balled into tight fists as she seemingly fought to hold her composure, though the anxious look in her eye gave it all away. She bit her lip for a second, watching as the campers found and met her gaze. 

 

“M-my name is Darcy Devlin, and Erecura is after me. I don’t know why, but I know this is… my fault. I’m very sorry for bringing this problem to you, none of you deserve this…” She drew in a breath, tucking her hair behind her ears. 

 

“I-I… I can’t.. I can’t ask you to help me.” 

 

Several demigods glanced to one another, alarmed, and Will nudged Darcy’s shoulder gently. 

 

“They’re here to help,” he reassured, “They volunteered.” 

The girl shook her head. “They don’t know me.” 

“Eh, I guess that’s true.” Will shrugged, winking. “But I didn’t know you either. Neither did Lou Ellen. And we still came after you, right?” 

“I… I suppose so, but--”

 

“I’ll help!” 

 

A girl with hair the color of cotton candy stood and pushed her way to the front. Her smile was a tad lopsided and her loose fitted camp t-shirt was riddled with tiny holes, but her words rang through the cabin. (“Clef Arielle,” whispered Hae-Won to Will.)

 

“I can’t say I  _ do _ know you,” she admitted. “But you’re a demigod, aren’t you? One of us. I’ll help.” 

 

Darcy’s eyes widened and she shook her head again, opening her mouth to speak. 

 

“Me too.” Piper yawned. “Any friend of Nickles is a friend of mine. Besides, this Erecura person seems to have underestimated us. That can’t be forgiven.” A few Ares kids nodded in agreement, Clarisse included. 

 

“I’m helping!” Hazel piped in, quickly elbowing at Frank until he did the same. 

 

“Same here!”

“Me too!”

 

Suddenly the cabin was abuzz with declarations of war and promises to assist in any way they can. Hae-Won even quietly tugged Darcy’s sleeve and sighed her inclusion, making Will’s chest flutter. 

Darcy gazed around her in bewilderment, looking to Nico with the same look of confusion. 

 

“Of course I’m helping. You’re like my underworld step-sister.” 

 

The blizzard haired girl was on him in a flash, hugging him though her head only just barely met his chest. The son of Hades appeared slightly taken aback at the suddenness of the gesture. He awkwardly returned the hug, blushing deeply. 

 

Will stifled a sigh.  _ Gods, is Nico always this adorable? Since when? _

  
“So,” Clef took the floor again, setting her hands on her hips and smiling brightly. “How can we help?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaah i felt so awkward writing this chapter/// it's been so long since i've read the books, i completely forgot how Chiron acts/talks so i kind of made him really flat if that makes sense?? aah sorry ;;;; the next one is better i promise!!
> 
> also!! if anyone is an artist and wants to draw anything from this fic you should send it to me!! (soupella.tumblr.com) and when i figure out how i can add in art at the end of the chapters!! ^^" might need help with that last part im kind of hopeless....


	42. A Shoe is Mightier Than The Sword...

Darcy had to admit, the demigods of Camp Half-Blood were efficient if not completely insane.

 

The rain hadn’t lifted much, though it didn’t seem to bother any of the demigods working on preparation for the attack. A small tent was set up for the Athena kids to spread out their maps and plan out a defense. Every once in awhile, one of them would shoot out an order to another and that one would jet off in some direction for… for Darcy didn’t know  _ what _ . 

 

_ They’re helping me… they’re helping  _ me. 

Like she said: insane. 

 

The younger campers were herded away by Cecil and Lou Ellen, who refused all eye contact with Darcy.  _ She’s just focused on the matter at hand.. _ At least, that’s what Darcy had chosen to believe. 

 

Even a few river nymphs put their magic to use, forming a dome out of the falling rain to create an invisible umbrella over what would become the battlefield. When they were through, they hurried past Darcy with somber expressions back into the woods. She smiled and waved. They did what they could, and that counts. 

 

She moved her gaze toward the Hephaestus cabin. Over the sound of the rain, she could make out the sounds of blacksmithing tools and drills and lighthearted cursing and laughter. Clarisse had noticed that the weapons they used for training could be reinforced and used for a proper fight, and the kids from Cabin Nine jumped on the task immediately. 

 

_ Strangely lively _ , she thought. 

 

“Darcy.” Nico appeared next to the girl, his sword slung over his shoulder harmlessly and his hair tied back. His gaze was heavy. With a deep sigh, Darcy shrugged her shoulders.

“No, I don’t think I’m ready for this… but…”  _ But what choice do I have, right? _

 

_ “What choice do I have?” Dillon’s voice was pleading, the vicious green eyes in front of him unbothered by it. His throat constricted. He knew the answer already.  _

_ “None.” She sang it. She laughed. He wanted to scream… None none none... _

 

The fuzziness in her head faded as the memory became a wash of color before disappearing completely, and Darcy cleared her throat and swallowed. She didn’t want to talk about it, the weird memories, not anymore. Not right now, of all times. Nico tilted his head in question, but she avoided his eyes.

 

“I’m fine,” she mumbled, before Nico could ask. The son of Hades watched her, then drew his eyes away. He seemed to understand. 

 

“ _ DI ANGELO. _ ” 

 

Nico visibly stiffened. A sudden chill fell over the camp, and those working tossed regretful looks to the shuddering boy, but quickly returned to their jobs, whispering to each other. Darcy blinked, confused, trying to find where the voice had come from--  

 

“ _ Darcy, duck! _ ” 

 

Will jumped to Darcy’s side, though she had no idea where he came from, placed his hand on her head and shoved her down just as something whizzed over it at a speed too fast for her to see what it was. 

 

Unfortunately for Nico, who was behind Darcy--

 

_ SMACK! _

THUD.

 

...He fell to the ground, one hand on the side of his head. Next to him, the object of his pain. It was..

 

“A..shoe?”

Will’s hand slid from the top of her head to over her mouth. He shook his head and pulled her out of the path of a very intimidating looking demigod. She had long, dark hair curled into a bun, eyes the color of obsidian and zeroed in on Nico, and the other shoe in her hand. She was wearing a sort of… toga-styled dress? and she strided forward with a sense of purpose. She was terrifying.

Nico pushed himself into a sitting position, clutching the shoe and grimacing. 

 

He grumbled something in Italian, lifting his chin to meet her face. “Did you just throw a shoe at me?” 

The girl stood over him, fists clenched and eyes sparkling. “So what if I did?” 

 

Darcy gently peeled Will’s hand from her mouth, whispering, “Who is  _ that _ ?” That oddly frightening warrior of ancient Rome with one ballet flat in her hand and a scowl on her face. 

The son of Apollo’s eyes were glued on the scene playing out in front of them, but he answered in a hushed tone, “Pure evil.” 

 

The girl swiftly pointed her remaining shoe at Will, who squeaked and held Darcy in front of him like a shield. A shivering, sputtering shield. 

 

“He-- I jus-- I-- Um, I--” 

“Darcy,” Nico interrupted, still rubbing his head. It was starting to bruise already. “This is Reyna. Reyna, Darcy.” 

 

Reyna reluctantly lowered her shoe, eyes still narrowed and untrusting. She regarded Darcy with caution, spotted Will cowering behind her, and rolled her eyes in a way that reminded Darcy of Hae-Won. 

“Will, what are  _ you _ hiding for?” She asked, exasperated. Her grip on the flat went slack, and Darcy felt Will’s grip on her shoulders lessen in relief. He smiled sheepishly and lifted a hand to give a pitiful wave. Darcy mimicked the action, curling her toes in her shoes.  _ Please don’t hit me with your shoe please don’t hit me with your shoe please… _

 

“I’m sorry,” Reyna sighed, her expression softening as she found Darcy’s face again. Nico grunted as he stood up from the ground, his back now slathered in mud. 

“I mean--” he started, but Reyna lifted a finger and held in just in front of his mouth. The son of Hades blinked at it. 

 

“I wasn’t talking to  _ you _ , I was talking to  _ Darcy _ .” 

Darcy gulped. Reyna smiled at her, apologetic. “I seem to have made a horrible first impression, I promise the surprise attack was completely warranted.” Darcy nodded. She was afraid not to. 

 

“ _ Warranted?! _ ” Nico tossed the shoe back at her, and she caught it flawlessly. Darcy glanced down at the girl’s feet, bare and muddied. Her icy stare toward the shorter boy suggested she wasn’t bothered by her state of dress… “You show up out of nowhere and pelt a rutting  _ shoe _ at me?! How is that  _ warranted!? _ ” 

 

“How is it not!” Reyna took a step toward Nico, who stared her down but didn’t back away. Behind her, Will let out a small squeak. Darcy found some sort of comfort in that. “A month and a half? Not so much as an Iris message? Gods, Nico, I was called back to New Rome for some praetor business and I had no idea if you were  _ okay _ , nevermind  _ alive _ .”

Nico’s face fell. He looked guiltily at her and dropped the tenseness in his shoulders. 

 

“Yea… about that, something really weird--”

_ SMACK!  _

Nico was too slow to protect his shoulder from the oncoming attack, and winced at the contact of shoe to skin. 

 

“ _ Ow! _ ” 

Reyna crossed her arms. “No excuses!” 

 

Will tapped gently on Darcy’s shoulder, whispering, “You should tell her.” Darcy blanched and moved to face him, but Will spun her around into opportune shield mode. Instead she had to tilt her face in his direction. 

“No!” She hissed. “Why don’t  _ you _ tell her?” 

“And get hit by footwear? No thanks.” 

“So it’s okay if I get hit by footwear then?!”

“She won’t hit you! She doesn’t know you well enough!” 

“Are you saying that  _ you’d _ hit me with footwear? Will!” 

But Will had crouched behind her again when Reyna glanced their direction. 

 

Nico blew out a sigh. “Okay, I’m sorry.” 

The Roman demigod waved a hand around at the bustle of camp. “And what’s all this, what’s going on here?” 

 

Will gave Darcy’s arm a pinch and she yelped, elbowing him in the stomach. Nico shot them both a glare. Will stuck out his tongue, Darcy discreetly gestured that that was all Will’s fault. 

 

“Right,” Nico sighed again, rubbing his shoulder. “I can explain if you promise to stop hitting me.” 

Reyna appeared to think over the proposal, then slowly nodded. “I need to hose off my feet anyway, and change.” 

Nico gave a small nod and the two walked away, Reyna making a beeline for the Aphrodite cabin to steal some clothes from Piper. 

 

Darcy shoved Will out from behind her and spun to face him, hands on her hips. “You’re such a coward!” 

“Shutup! You would be too if you knew Reyna better.” 

 

_ No, no, _ spoke Darcy’s inner voice.  _ I’m thoroughly terrified, thank you _ . 

 

“We should train.” Will suggested suddenly, heading for the practice field. With Reyna safely out of sight, the tension in the son of Apollo’s shoulders relaxed and he easily fell back into his ‘default setting.’ Though, she wasn’t sure why he wanted to train so suddenly.

The daughter of Lyssa struggled to find a reply as she trotted after him. Seeing her confusion, Will elaborated, “Well,  _ you _ need to train, right? And I can help you.” He pulled a practice sword from the rack.

 

“What.. why?” He was already getting into stance… well, not the proper stance, but Darcy bit her tongue. 

He gave the sword an experimental swing, and seemingly satisfied with it, looked up at Darcy expectantly. “C’mon,” he urged. 

 

Darcy glanced down at the gold ring on her hand. A simple band, no engraving, no design. With a small sigh, the ring responded to her unspoken command and became the long golden sword she’d once seen as her companion. Now it dropped a heavy weight on her shoulders. She gripped it steadily.

 

“Ready?” Will asked. 

“Y-Yes,” she answered tentatively. 

 

Will’s attack was too forward, too easy to dodge. Darcy took a small step to the side and let his momentum carry him forward. He attempted to swing his arm back, sword clumsily flying toward her, but with a light strike from her own sword, Will’s weapon shot forward with him, causing him to trip. 

Luckily, he caught himself before he hit the ground, spinning too quickly on his heel and going for a strong thrust. Darcy knocked him aside again, feeling slightly guilty for it. 

 

“If you don’t mind my asking,” Will got into the (wrong) position to strike again. “How did you learn how to wield a sword?” 

He came at her this time with a wide swing, easily dodged with a half spin. “My Uncle. Though, I’m not sure where he learned. But when we were old enough, he gave us twin blades. We practiced.” 

“You and Dillon?” 

“Yes.” 

 

Honestly, Darcy was surprised Will had the ability to fight and speak so casually. He rushed her again, this time determined to get a good hit in, but Darcy flew forward to meet him halfway. The surprise of it made him hesitate a second too long, and Darcy lightly tapped his side with the flat of her blade. 

 

“Got you.” 

“Ah!” 

 

“So, can I ask a question?” Darcy asked while Will righted himself again. He brushed his pants and was blushing lightly but he nodded. 

 

“How did you and Nico meet?” 

The blonde sputtered, blush darkening. He fiddled with the practice sword, struggling with his hand placement. He muttered, “At camp.” 

 

Darcy lowered her sword, watching him carefully. She fought the mischievous smirk that threatened to spread across her lips, but she was no match. “Was it love at first sight?” She teased. Will’s cheeks flamed once more and the girl stifled a giggle. 

 

“N-No!”

“It was!!” Darcy gasped, clapping. “How romantic!” 

Will pointed the practice sword at her, trying his best to appear intimidating, though the blush on his face and his wobbling voice left little to be feared. “It was no-not! I saw him way before he ever saw me anyway…” 

 

“Ohh,” Darcy nodded, twirling her sword in her hand. She’d be lying if she said this wasn’t the most fun she’d ever had. “Were you… a stalker?” 

 

Will visibly tensed. “No.”

“Oh my gods,  _ Will _ .”

“No!” 

 

“What are you two talking about?”

 

Nico and Reyna returned, both in a fresh set of clothes. Reyna’s elegant braided bun became a simple high ponytail, and she traded her formal toga dress for a camp shirt and a pair of denim shorts. Even in casual attire, Darcy could feel her warning signs going off in her head. This girl was deadly, no matter what she was wearing. 

 

Will stabbed his practice sword into the soft earth, crossing his arms over his chest with a tiny pout. “Nothing…” 

 

“We were, um… practicing,” Darcy explained. A quick glance to Will told her to leave out the topic of the conversation. She was tempted to ignore him, but she was still on edge from Reyna’s presence and decided to let it go for now. “Just practicing.” 

 

“Swordfighting?” Nico hummed, eyes scanning over the two before landing on Will. The boy jumped a little. Nico held out a hand and gently took the sword from him. “Maybe swordfighting with an archer isn’t the best idea? Truly, it isn’t your type.”

 

Will pouted at the words, though Darcy wasn’t quite sure why. He stepped aside without complaint however, and Nico took his place. 

As she finally realized what was happening, Darcy’s eyes widened. 

 

“O-oh, no, you don’t have to--”

“It’s fine,” Nico said, tossing the practice sword to the side and unsheathing his own obsidian blade. “Practice never hurts, right?” 

 

_ Oh it might hurt me a lot actually… _ She gulped, suffered a smile, and readied herself. Assumably, he was going to attack first, probably going for a wide--

 

Darcy barely had the time to react when Nico launched himself forward. He swiped, short and swiftly, with the flat of his blade at Darcy’s legs. It was pure instinct that moved her arms and deflected the blow, though weakly. 

She wasn’t even allowed time to reposition herself before Nico struck again, this time aiming for her side. Their blades clashed and fought between them. The son of Hades held more strength than his small frame suggested, Darcy found her arms feeling heavy and struggling against his push. 

 

At last, they broke apart, Nico with an intense look of focus and Darcy’s knuckles painting themselves white. Of course, what made her think this was to be easy?

The dark haired boy’s eyes flickered with something Darcy couldn’t identify, and suddenly he was at her side again. She spun to meet him, determined to at least make her defending impressive, holding her golden sword in front of her--

 

A sharp smack from Stygian iron and the sword was thrown from her hands, leaving them throbbing and grasping at air. Something like fire cried in outrage within her, and Darcy pulled her hands to her chest and rubbed them tenderly, grimacing. 

 

On the sidelines, Will coughed politely. “Isn’t that… going a little far?” He asked the question gently, if not sternly. A suggestion and a reprimand hidden in his words. 

Nico either didn’t notice or didn’t care, pointing the blade’s tip in Darcy’s face. 

 

“You’re holding back. Why?” 

Darcy scoffed. “I am  _ not _ \--”

 

“You are,” sighed Reyna, flickering her fingers in her direction. “Look at your feet.” 

 

She hesitated, but glanced down. Her feet were crossed, facing each other as if she were a frightened child lost in a forest. She righted them, cheeks warming. 

 

“I-I’m not holding back, I’m- I’m just…” 

“Just what?” Nico pushed. 

“Confused?” Suggested Reyna. Darcy scowled. Confused?  _ Confused? _

 

“No!”

“Then  _ what _ ?” Nico impatiently flipped his sword in his hands. Reyna watched her expectantly. Will sent apologetic glares to the ground. 

 

“Fight me like you mean it, Devlin.” 

“Are you perhaps afraid?” 

“Maybe I am!” 

 

The words were passed her lips before she could catch them, and the fire in her belly sparked and sizzled and roared. 

 

“Maybe I am afraid!” The fire burned in the back of her throat. “I killed my brother in a swordfight! I murdered his image in Lyssa’s Palace, then I smothered his ghost from my mind!” Her heart was pounding in her ears, her voice was uncharacteristically sharp and fine. 

“Now I’m being chased by a, a  _ Goddess _ who is mysteriously bent on killing me, I’ve brought her  _ here _ , I’ve endangered the lives of hundreds for my stupid,  _ stupid _ grievances--!! Yes!  _ Yes _ , I am  _ afraid. _ ” 

 

She had to admit, the outburst felt amazing. It wasn’t as though she were keeping these emotions secret from them, and yet it never occurred to her that saying them out loud might ease the pain they were causing. 

They were staring at her; Nico with a look of surprise, Will with a solemn stare, and Reyna looking… impressed? 

 

Darcy drew in a breath, deep and cleansing. “I’m sorry,” she sighed. Though relieving, her sudden explosion wasn’t exactly called for. They were only trying to help anyways… Gods, now she felt awful. 

 

Reyna shook her head. “Don’t be. I’d be more worried if you weren’t afraid.” She tightened her ponytail a smidge before stepping in beside Darcy and placing her hands on her shoulders. They were warm, a little heavy, but oddly grounding. 

With a coax, Reyna positioned Darcy back into the proper stance, kicking at her feet lightly to tell her to adjust the angle of her toes. Once satisfied, she waved a hand at Nico. 

 

“Go again,” she instructed, suddenly a teacher. “Darcy, this time, don’t be afraid to hurt him. He’s an idiot, he needs to be smacked every once in awhile.” She winked, and Darcy felt her face warm. 

 

“Not too much though,” Will crossed his arms, more relaxed after Darcy’s confession. “I’m not sewing on any limbs.” 

Nico made a mock face of offense. 

 

With her opponent finally prepared for battle, Darcy dropped the tenseness from her shoulders. She considered going to him for a moment, but stopped herself and let her mind go blank. 

  
Nico charged forward, Darcy’s sword lifted itself to meet him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was kind of a preppy chapter and i just wanted Darcy to meet Reyna so i put the drama on pause for this cute little episode!
> 
> also sweet god this is chapter 42 are you people still reading this?? why


	43. Erecura

Will checked, double checked, and  _ triple checked _ his medkit, convinced he’d left something out. If Erecura was coming with a vengeance, it’s better to be prepared isn’t it? At Lyssa’s palace, he hadn’t brought much in terms of medical supplies, and even then his bag had been taken. He chewed thoughtfully on his lower lip, puzzling over the contents of the kit another time. 

 

Nico and Darcy ceased attacking hours ago, but only at Reyna’s insistence. Will had noted a fire in Darcy’s eyes he hadn’t yet seen. It was different from her time under Madness, more deliberate and concentrated. She was like a different person. 

The thought made his chest warm, but he pushed it to the side. He couldn’t take full credit for that, it was mostly Darcy’s doing anyhow. 

 

“Satisfied?” Hae-Won leaned back in her chair by the desk, a book open in her lap. At her suggestion, any patients they still had or were monitoring were given to Lou Ellen and the young ones. Will tried to ask where she was hiding everyone, but Lou Ellen refused to tell for reasons Will wasn’t sure of. 

 

“Not really…” he answered with a sigh, closing the kit up and strapping it on his person. It was a fanny pack, but a  _ medical _ fanny pack. So it wasn’t lame. Kinda. 

Will ran a hand through his hair. “Just nervous I guess..” 

 

Hae-Won nodded, understanding, and returned to her book. She hid it well, but Will could easily see that she was a bit anxious herself. She hadn’t turned a page in ten minutes. 

 

Though, maybe nervous wasn’t the right word for the heavy feeling in Will’s gut. It was more… foreboding than it was frightening. 

 

_ What would Nico say?  _ He wondered with a sigh.  _ He’d probably call me an  _ idiota _ or something… _ Though he’d be lying if he said he didn’t love it. 

 

Will was never expecting Nico di Angelo. Not like this. His first thoughts of him were fleeting, and with time they diminished. Or so he thought. Every mention of his name had sent sparks dancing across his skin, and whenever he caught a glimpse of his stupid scowl and unkempt hair, he felt his heart scream. 

Then he fell into Tartarus… and Will begged his father everyday to  _ do _ something. When Nico returned he looked half starved and exhausted and ridiculous in that stupid,  _ stupid _ Hawaiian shirt. His skin was nearly translucent and his eyes were sunken in with fatigue, Will wanted to throw a fit right there on the battlefield, but bit his tongue and changed the subject. 

 

That boy was deadly. With his stupid eyes, stupid hair, stupid smile… Will knew he wasn’t perfect. He knew he had just as many issues as anyone else, and he knew he wasn’t handling them as he should… He was insecure. Mostly in his abilities as a healer, but also in his ability as a person. Being so genuinely loved had felt like a bad prank, but he didn’t want it to end, so he played along until.. Until he didn’t. 

And when Nico told him he loved him? When he heard those words, Will felt himself break. He didn’t understand  _ why _ when he was so… so broken. 

 

It hardly matters now though, huh? 

 

“Will.” 

He looked to Hae-Won. She’d set her book on the desk, closed, and held her hands tightly together in her lap, eyes fixed firmly on his. She swallowed. It went unnoticed as Will stared blankly at her. 

 

“What?” 

The girl hesitated, fingers twitching and clenching in her lap as she struggled. “I…. I…” Annoyed with herself, Hae-Won gave her cheeks a hard slap, causing Will to jump. She opened her mouth with a determined expression, found Will’s gaze and… her face fell again, hands slumping in her lap. 

 

“What? What is it?” Her behavior was peculiar, Will had never seen her so distressed. She looked up at him with a helpless look, rolling her eyes. 

 

“I… can’t explain it..” 

“Try,” Will urged. “I’ll try to get it.” 

 

Hae-Won nodded and went silent for a moment, mulling over whatever it was she had to say. The suspense was driving a stake into Will’s heart. 

Finally, she spoke.

 

“Something… bad is going to happen…” She watched for a reaction, but quickly hurried on. “And at first, I thought the feeling was Erecura coming and wrecking camp, but… it hasn’t gone away….” 

“Does it feel like something heavy? Nestled right into your gut?”

She shook her head, eyes glassy.

 

“It feels like I’m being… torn in two..” 

 

\---

 

Nico stared at the trees at the outer border of camp. He was frowning, the match between him and Darcy still fresh in his mind. 

He wasn’t hurt or anything, just now more sore than he had been. Despite Reyna’s permission to hurt him (which was rude, by the way), Darcy only hit Nico with the flat of her blade. But she hit him hard. And fast. 

It ended when Reyna threatened to filet the both of them if they didn’t stop, so Nico reluctantly volunteered to walk the border again and keep an eye out. Reyna hooked her arm through a terrified looking Darcy and strolled off to help the other campers. (Nico was sure he saw Darcy mouth the words ‘help me’ at him, but he stuck out his tongue and watched her be dragged away.)

 

Now he swung his sword around in front of him, idly pacing beside the border, occasionally throwing a bored look to the woods. Honestly, he was surprised to find himself so relaxed, given their current situation. Yet, he’d survived worse, hadn’t he?

 

The boy shivered. He wasn’t too fond of dwelling on his past brushes with death, his own or otherwise. An eerie feeling of calm fell over him, and he felt indifferent. If Will were here, he’d tell him to snap out of it and say something cute or funny and Nico would feel himself lighting up again… but Will went to the infirmary, and Nico was boredly alone. 

 

The rain hadn’t stopped, but the umbrella of water over the entire camp kept everyone as dry as they could be. From where Nico stood, he could still see the raindrops falling and striking the earth. The sound of it became white noise as he walked, and he thought of Will and he didn’t know why. 

 

He wondered where he’d be if he refused to stay in the infirmary. Dead, surely. The looming threat of fading was minute now, though that didn’t uncoil the anxiety in his stomach. Shadowtravelling took a lot out of him, and it was no surprise that he was more nervous about doing it again. He was sure Will would be angry, even if it only made him just slightly dizzy. 

Nico felt different because of Will. He found himself leaning into Will’s touches more and wishing he was here when he wasn’t. Even with others, his personality was altered. He didn’t act cold or distant anymore, and frankly he didn’t miss it. He enjoyed company; Darcy’s, Lou’s, Reyna’s. Suddenly the world felt less big and imposing, Nico once thought he was drowning in it and no one would mind his absence. And then Will Solace. 

 

He was blushing now, thankful no one was around to see his hideously reddened cheeks. But it was true. Will cracked open something in him he’d thought he lost a long time ago, and Nico found that he didn’t mind. 

 

The wind shook the tree branches and Nico tensed, remembering where he was and the looming threat over them all. He watched the trees carefully, though it was difficult to see much given the rain and the inherent darkness that woods always seemed to possess. 

 

_ Geeze, I’m jumpy… _ Even the hairs on the back of his neck prickled as if he were being watched, but Nico couldn’t sense anyone nearby. He eyed the woods again, his grip on his Stygian blade tightening. 

 

Something wasn’t right. 

 

It was at this realization when Nico heard the screaming. 

 

The noise was coming from the direction of camp, and Nico took off running, heart pounding against his ribs with each stride. As he approached, he saw shadowy figures growing up from the ground, grabbing at the ankles of the campers. One girl shrieked, hauling a battle axe at the shadow. It dissipated, but quickly reformed and lunged again. The girl stepped out of the way of one, and into the reaches of another, which grabbed her axe wielding hand and flung the weapon away. 

 

Nico quickened his pace, lifting his sword and slicing down on both shadows in a blink. The girl wasted no time, sprinting away with her axe in hand, shouting to a few campers and telling them to either grab weapons or get somewhere safe. 

 

_ Phantoms _ , Nico remembered, watching them reform once more into a semi-human shape and reach for him. How had they dealt with this last time? 

 

Oh. They didn’t. Perfect.

 

“Nico!”

Darcy drew in deep breaths as she stopped running next to Nico, sword held at the ready. A phantom materialized at her feet and she struck it down with ease. 

 

“Phantoms,” she panted. “Do you think--?”

“Yes,” Nico answered. These were definitely Erecura’s doing. “She must be getting closer. But I didn’t see anything at the border.” 

“What do we do? We can’t kill them.” 

“Fend them off I guess, until we figure out a better idea.” 

 

He swiped at another, noticing the other campers doing the same. Realizing they can’t kill them, a few turned tail and fled. But a little ways away, Nico watched as Clef slashed a Celestial bronze dagger through a phantom and stab it into another. Beside her was Piper, having no difficulties dissolving the underworldly beasts and looking scarily proud doing it. 

 

Nico felt a sudden presence at his side and spun to see Will Solace, first aid kid strapped to his waist, bow held with all the grace of an actual Greek god… (Nico blushed. Like who? Apollo?  _ Gods _ .) He swiftly shot two oncoming phantoms before facing Nico, scanning his eyes over the son of Hades. 

 

“I’m fine,” Nico answered before he could ask. “Where’s Hae-Won?” 

“Holding down the infirmary with Dustin.” He must’ve noticed Nico’s unease, because he chuckled and said, “Don’t worry, Hae-Won could give Reyna a run for her money in a fight.”

 

That was both concerning and a relief to hear… 

“Any sign of her?” Darcy’s voice was laced with something venomous, but she wore a look of cool composure that gave the ghost king goosebumps. 

Will shook his head. “Not yet--” 

 

A blast of winter air flooded the camp, the umbrella of water over them cracking as it froze. Nico watched a blanket of ice thinly coat over the grass, crystals forming at the toes of his shoes. He shook them off, an angry huff of air condensing in front of his face. He shivered, involuntarily, eyes finding exactly what the dark presence on his radar said he would find.

 

“ _ Dia dhaoibh _ , demigods.” Erecura’s steps crunched along the dying grass, but she didn’t look like the Erecura Nico remembered. 

Her short red hair had grown long and wiry, but from what, Nico wasn’t sure. The skin around her scalp and face had peeled away to reveal the stark skeleton underneath, her expression a permanent smile. All that remained was one of her eyes, bloodshot and shining a snake skin green. 

The goddess seemed to have shot up in height as well, whatever skin she had left on her body being covered with a robe like dress, something similar to a cape draping over one shoulder and down a skeletal arm. 

She reeked of rotting apples.

 

The goddess laughed, a choking sound that made Nico wince. Her one eye swiveled to Darcy’s form, and she gnashed her teeth at her with another chuckle. 

“Darcy dear,” Nico wasn’t sure how she was forming these words with no lips. “Glad to see you’re alright! Though, and I’m sorry to say this lass, I truly am… I’m afraid it’s time for you to die, dear.” 

 

Darcy’s grip on her sword turned her knuckles white, but Nico felt no fear from her. He pointed his own sword in the goddess’ direction, earning a hiss. 

 

“Why?” 

The goddess didn’t appear to understand the question, so Darcy repeated it.

“Why me? Why my brother? What are we to you?” 

 

Erecura frowned (or at least, Nico imagined she was frowning. Truthfully, she merely paused). For half a second, she seemed only baffled by Darcy’s boldness. Nico had to admit, she wasn’t the same, jittery and soft spoken girl he’d met in the infirmary. The girl beside him held her weapon with a calm sense of determination, eyes practically glistening with clarity. She was not afraid. She would not run. 

 

“Why…” The goddess repeated to herself, voice taking on a scratchy element as if she were parched. A sort of wistfulness contorted her expression, but just as quickly filled it with rage and hatred. 

 

“Wee Doran Devlin,” she snarled. Her underworldly minions shrieked and howled at the name, though Nico watched as Darcy’s face crumpled with recognition. At the sight, the goddess gave a wicked smirk.

 

“Yes, that’s right dearie….” 

“You’re lying.” 

“I’m not the one who lied, lass.”

 

Erecura’s smile vanished.

“Why am I even telling  _ you _ this?” She laughed, darkly. “You’re about to die anyway, dear demigodess, and I owe you  _ nothing _ .” And she screamed into the sky and shadows fell like rain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dun dun DUNNNNNNN


	44. Lyssa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorrrrryyyy thi s iss super late but its also incredibly long so

The scream shook Darcy’s very bones, as well as the ground beneath her feet. Luckily, she jumped back in time as a skeletal hand shot free from the dirt, scrabbling for something to pull the rest of itself up. 

She looked to Nico in alarm, but the son of Hades shook his head. 

 

“Those aren’t mine.” 

Of course they weren’t, since when had Darcy Devlin meant ‘good luck’? 

 

The skeletal soldiers rose from the ground, scattered all around the camp with the phantoms. One of them reached behind his head and forcefully ripped his spine free, falling apart just as he handed it off to an expectant Erecura. Her touch made the bone grow to a tremendous size and extend its shape and sharpen its edges. A sword. 

 

“Darcy!” 

Darcy looked to her side. Already, Will was struggling with a pair of skeletons, bending the little light he was giving off to create a sort of spear-like weapon. They advanced and he sliced them in half, grumbling as they reconnected themselves and started again. His sapphire eyes glanced up to find Darcy’s. 

 

“Go! You can do this!” 

The girl nodded, feeling a tight knot form in her throat. Could she actually…? She had no choice, huh. She had to. 

 

Erecura gave an experimental swing of her new toy, laughing in delight, seemingly pleased with it. Darcy swallowed and raised her own weapon. 

She prepared herself to lunge, but a blur flew out in front of her from her left, causing her to stumble backward. 

 

In front of her flapped a harpy, or rather, what was left of one after what appeared to be a brutal wrestling match with a lawnmower. Judging from the creature’s smell, it hadn’t seen the daylight in, oh, six millennia. 

Covered in molting, rotted feathers, the harpy hissed it’s death breath in Darcy’s face, making the girl feel rather sick. 

 

“Death to the girl!” It slurred, muddied rot flinging from it’s mouth. “Fresh blood for Her Majesty!” 

 

With another screech, the harpy lunged with its talons. Darcy lifted her arm and ducked, but the sharp claws scraped across her forearm, leaving bright red trails behind. She winced at the sting, but lifted her sword enough to cut the harpy down, though it still squirmed and lashed out from the ground. 

 

_ If we can’t kill what’s dead _ , Darcy thought.  _ How are we supposed to win this fight? _

 

_ Maybe we aren’t supposed to.  _

Darcy inwardly chided herself.  _ That’s unhelpful _ . She parried a skeleton’s makeshift sword (a leg bone, judging from his ally slowly crawling into the fray) and shattered apart the ribs, though the beast only pulled itself together again after a moment's struggle. 

 

Erecura was busy summoning more minions to do her dirty work, Will had his hands full firing off arrows (both light and physical) at monsters that were overpowering the other demigods, and Nico juggled multiple creatures at once, summoning his own small army of skeletons. 

Darcy felt a jolt of panic. What, then? Do they try to force her out of camp? Even then, there’s no guarantee she wouldn’t come back… She had followed Darcy all the way from Lyssa’s palace with intent to kill, the girl highly doubted the goddess would be satisfied with letting her live…

 

“Are we in the correct place?”

“Obviously, sister, look around you. She’s arrived already, we’re in midst of a battle.”

“Oh, for certain. I meant is mistress Darcy here?”

“She must be-- ah. See, right over here. Mistress Darcy!”

 

Darcy gave a wary glance at the two beings which approached her. Surely not pretty things, but their faces seemed friendly enough. One of them shook their wings excitedly at the sight of her. 

 

“Oh! Look at you! All grown up and--” 

“Now isn’t the time, sister,” chided the other. They faced Darcy again, this time bowing low in front of her. “D’Elormie, at your service young miss.”

 

The daughter of Lyssa stared at the bowing creature dumbstruck. “I don’t believe I--” A harpy whizzed past, hissing and spitting. Swifter than Darcy expected, D’Elormie slapped it down with one of his own wings with a tut. 

 

“Mania,” the sister nodded at Darcy. “Servants of the goddess Lyssa on a normal day, but we were sent here to serve you! We’d love to lend a hand however we are able--”

“Annabel Lee, please focus on the matter at hand.”

“Right!”

 

Annabel Lee at once materialized throwing knives from seemingly nowhere, and with a wink to Darcy, set to work firing them off at oncoming enemies. D’Elormie procured one of the skeleton’s makeshift swords and did the same. Darcy watched them with a boggled expression. 

 

_ Servants of Lyssa? _ Did that mean her mother was here? 

 

With a powerful flap of her wings, Annabel Lee took to the skies, raining destruction down on Erecura’s little army men. She whooped and waved excitedly at Will, who seemed surprised at first but then happy to see her, waving back. 

 

_ Ah. I see now. _

 

D’Elormie walked into the fray casually, a mass of shadowy ooze growing steadily from behind him. It slowly took on a form of some sort, spindly legs sprouting and large, black eyes swelling from the smoky ink. With a hiss, the spider was freed from the smoke and skittered away in chase of a handful of skeletons. 

Darcy felt a spark of recognition. The nightmares. Lyssa  _ was _ here.

 

Sweeping her eyes around the camp, Darcy saw multiple smoke beings take on forms; some human-esque and some of a species unique only to the imagination. Phantoms and harpies alike were attacked by giant serpents, hellhounds, even an elderly woman with a principal name plate reading “Miss Dewitt” was pounding away at a shrieking harpy with a meter stick. A few of the creatures vanished in a puff of black, abandoning the fight altogether.

 

_ They’re driving them back,  _ Darcy realized, chest warming.  _ We can drive them back! We can win! _

 

“What’s this?” Erecura’s voice boomed, watching the destruction of her little army. “Summoning mummy’s sweet pets now are we? They cannot save you, Devlin! They cannot win this fight for you!”

 

Annabel Lee paused in the air, nibbling on the end of one of her knives. “Pets? Brother, I say, are we  _ pets _ ?” 

“Not at all, sister,” D’Elormie yawned, cutting down skeletal soldiers as if they were made of butter.

“We have wings, do we not? Like birds?”

“Yes.”

“We do serve a master, do we not?”

D’Elormie stiffened. “...Yes.”

“With unwavering loyalty and love?”

“Dear gods of Olympus. We’re parakeets.”

“I knew it!” Annabel Lee cried with her fist pumped.

 

“ENOUGH!” Erecura swung her sword high, creating a pulse of energy that knocked both mania from the air. She took a step toward Darcy. And then another. Another.

Her eyes were glowing a venomous green, and Darcy was reminded of Dillon’s eyes. Not the phantom she’d fought before, but the real Dillon. The one she shared a bunk bed with, telling ghost stories in his scariest voice until Darcy squealed in terror. The one who came home covered in cuts and gingerly asked Darcy to bandage them, because Uncle was too rough and would chide him if he cried. The one who swore the neighbor’s cat had a voice and…. And… 

 

_ Cat. Voice. _

 

“It was you.”

Erecura paused, sword hovering inches from Darcy’s meager frame. The clamor of battle around her faded as she pieced together the memories. Cat scratches. The woods. The cat won’t stop talking, Darce… 

 

“The cat was the beginning. It was you.” Even as she said the words, her visions of memory that were once jumbled became sharper and more distinct. She saw Dillon. Trees. She heard his voice. And Erecura’s. And venomous green cat eyes… 

 

\--

 

_ Dillon wrung his hands. Darcy had been asking questions again. She wanted to know where all the scratches and bites were coming from, why he was disappearing into the woods for hours on end… Of course, he told her nothing. Her face looked sad.  _

 

_ “Dillon.” _

_ Dillon jumped and hardly hid the shakiness of his voice in answering. “Y-Yes?”  _

_ The cat stalked out from the bushes and curled up on a tree stump, purring lightly. “You want to prove yourself don’t you?” The cat said. “Prove you can protect her? Unlike that hideous father of yours?”  _

_ “My father was a good man, Uncle says so.”  _

_ “Your father is a miserable wretch!” She screamed, her cool composure crumbled to bits. “A pitiful excuse for a man! You will mention no more of him!” Dillon nodded hurriedly.  _

 

_ He hesitated in speaking. He  _ did  _ want to prove himself. Lately, Darcy’s been the hero, the strong one. Dillon wanted to be strong too. He had to be…  _

 

_ Uncle wasn’t an abusive man. Just very unused to children being in the house with him. He often forgot to do the shopping, leaving them with stale bread and soup for dinner most nights. He didn’t know how to mend clothing, or how to cook… Darcy learned all of that from the neighbor, a nice woman with three grandchildren.  _

_ Then Uncle found the rings. It was spring, and everyone was cleaning. He found them in an old box in the attic, still shining like they were new. Ancient things, he explained, said to transform into weapons in the hands of the Holders. The silver was Uncle’s great grandmother’s. The gold was Uncle’s father’s. For them, they were spears or axes or bows. For Darcy, it was a sword. For Dillon, it was just a ring. _

 

_ It took a long time before Dillon was able to transform his ring, and a ton of concentration. In the end, he only managed an exact replica of Darcy’s sword, which only rubbed salt in the wound. Darcy had been so proud and excited… She was so good at sparring..  _

 

_ Erecura hissed for attention and Dillon jumped. “Listen to me lad! I have a plan for you.” She jumped from the tree stump and began to weave around Dillon’s ankles.  _

_ “You need to show her that you’re strong. You’ll bring her here, to the woods, and then you will challenge her to a duel…”  _

 

_ “But I’m not as good as--” _

_ “Quiet! You will bring her here and challenge her, and then I will help you win.” _

_ “..Win? How?” _

 

_ The cat flicked her tail, grinning like a cheshire. “Oh, I have an idea.” Dillon meant to ask what it was, but he was distracted. Why had he only just now noticed that Erecura’s shadow was nowhere to be seen? _

\--

“ _ Dillon, please!”  _

Darcy? 

 

_ Ah. Was it raining? Dillon felt wetness on his cheeks… wait.. Were these his hands? His fingers were red.. Why? _

_ And the noises too… Dillon’s head felt heavy and dull and numb but he heard crashing and it made his temples throb it  _ hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts

 

Darcy, are you crying? I can’t see your face.

 

_ “Why are you doing this?” Her voice was ice. Shivery, shattering ice. Dillon tried to focus his eyes, to see, but he only caught a blur of blonde before being shoved back into the black.  _

 

_ “I…” His mouth was moving, it sounded like his voice, but it wasn’t.  _ Darcy it’s not. Me. It’s. Not me. It--

_ “I…” What was this weight in his hand? There was a scream in his throat but something choked it back down. Claws. _

 

_ Her voice was ice again. “Don’t.” A plea. A warning. He’d heard it before but not like this. Stepping. Forward? Was he moving?  _

_ “I…”  _ Let go let go let go let go let go let go-- LET GO OF ME--

 

_ “I have to.”  _

_ \-- _

_ Dillon didn’t understand.  _

 

_ Darcy held him so carefully, his head in her lap and her long, delicate fingers carding gently through his hair. He could see her eyes, her tears. He could hear her sobs, her breath hitching with each shaky inhale. She was dirty; her face smeared with dirt and her clothes ripped and torn.  _

 

_ Dillon didn’t understand.  _

 

_ He could see her. But he could also see himself. A broken figure lying in a bed of golden leaves, his chest a vision of crimson and scarlet. A trickle of blood ran past his lips, and Dillon meant to lift a hand and wipe it away, but he was met with a blue-ish, translucent appendage flickering in his eyesight.  _

_ Looking down, Dillon could see he was clearly standing beside this scene, though his legs faded into nothing. An odd feeling of dizziness seemed to be his natural state, and when he attempted to move his arm to Darcy, it became sharp and painful. Could he still feel pain?  _

 

_ “I’m sorry…” his sister wept for him, but Dillon wasn’t aware of how long. Time fell away by the second one moment, and then by the hour. Darcy apologized. And Dillon didn’t understand.  _

 

Erecura.  _ Even his voice was voiceless.  _ You promised you’d help me! What did you do to me?

 

_ “Me?” she was nowhere and everywhere, in his head and around it. “I didn’t do that. She did. I was showing her your power, your strength! She slayed you, in fear.” _

 

No… Darcy wouldn’t.. She’d.. She’d never--!

_ “No? And yet here she sits, apologizing. You were too strong for her and she was afraid of being overshadowed by your glory.” _

You lie!

 

_ But the goddess had gone, her words echoing behind her. Darcy wouldn’t kill him out of jealousy…. Would she? _

_ The girl crumpled over his corpse whimpered and rocked herself back and forth, still petting his head. She wouldn’t…  _

 

_ Time fell away again and Darcy upped and ran away, returning with a red faced Uncle to an empty bed of leaves. She howled and Uncle pulled her into his arms for the first time in years, mumbling counter curses as he led her back to the house… _

 

\--

 

Darcy stumbled, her head feeling as though it were being pressed into a vice. Tears sprang to the corners of her eyes but she wiped them away, lifting her weapon and pointing the tip at Erecura. 

 

“You possessed him.” Her voice was hard, and as she continued to talk it sounded as though it was layered with another. “You had no right! You meant for me to die from the start!”

Erecura stifled a laugh. “And? My dear, you seem to forget the differences between you and I! Though what did you do, once you slaughtered your kin? You  _ left _ . Fled!” 

“He was  _ gone _ \-- what did you do to him?”

Another laugh, bitter this time. “That wasn’t I. Your mother came and claimed him before I even got the chance.” She rested a skeletal hand against her rotten face. “It was  _ years _ later before I found what was left of him-- a ghost stuck in Lyssa’s palace. He apparently refused to move on, which was fine by me, he made the perfect little puppet!”

 

Darcy screamed in rage, swinging her blade down sloppily and being easily knocked aside by the goddess’ weapon. 

 

“So eager that one! He wanted so badly to prove himself to you, and you  _ killed _ him! What kind of  _ sister--? _ ”

 

Darcy’s next attack was planned. She fauxed another rageful, blind thrust at her chest before quickly swiping at the (somewhat) fleshy portion of the goddess’ legs. Erecura screeched, and something like blood but blacker oozed from the wound.

 

“He was strong!” She spat. “Stronger than I’ve ever been or could ever hope to be! You never even knew him--”

“I knew enough!” Erecura retorted, slicing her sword through the air, just missing the end of Darcy’s nose as she leapt backward. 

 

“In any case,” Darcy dodged another poorly timed blow at her knees. “What do you gain from killing me? What are we to you? Who was Doran to you?”

 

The goddess answered with a howl, striking her weapon downward as if she wished to cut the young demigod in half. Darcy dived away, and the sword struck soft earth and buried itself, giving Darcy an opening-- 

 

A screech like battle cry tore through the noise as Annabel Lee rocketed past the young snowy haired sword-wielder, her front fingers flexed to where her claws were unsheathed and sharp. The mania swiped and slashed at Erecura’s only eye, shouting, 

 

“It was many and many a year ago, in a kingdom by the sea!”

 

Erecura cried and punched at the air, but Annabel Lee was too swift, and she flew down and landed in front of Darcy, stretching her wings as if to provide some sort of shielding. 

No sooner had she done this than D’Elormie appeared with his stolen sword, stood in front of his sister with a brave expression.

 

“And who is happy now?” He asked with a smug grin. Darcy watched him blankly. 

 

“ _ Gnats! _ ” Cursed the goddess. “Vile, disgusting  _ gnats! _ Step aside, vermin, give up the girl!” She flexed her bony fingers and shadows latched on to the manias’ feet, yanking them to the side. Annabel Lee hissed and kicked desperately, but the phantom had successfully held her down. D’Elormie was the same, stringing along Irish curses which were both a comfort and a concern to Darcy, now unprotected. 

 

“Darcy!” Will knocked aside a headless skeleton warrior and joined her by her side. He looked worn out, breathing heavily and coated with sweat. But his eyes were alert and boring holes into Erecura’s skin (?) as he drew back his bow. 

No sooner had he arrived did Nico materialize in a dizzying plume of smoke. He looked much the same as Will, but with his cold presence on Darcy’s radar she suddenly felt a surge of confidence roar through her. 

 

In front of the trio, Erecura’s hideously rotting face managed some sort of smirk. “I wasn’t planning on taking three demigod lives today, especially not yours, wee shadow.” Nico grimaced. Erecura pouted. “I thought we had a kinship, you and I. Well… no matter. I’m flexible.”

 

“You’re not touching them,” Darcy snarled, surprising both boys with the sharpness of her voice. The surface of her skin tingled with the promise of power, but Darcy forced it away. She would win this without Madness. Even if it killed her. 

 

The Celtic goddess laughed, or choked, and wiped her chin of the black bile that sputtered from behind her gnashing teeth. “Or what, lamb? You gonna take me out into the woods and stab me in the gut?”

 

“Shutup!” 

“Gonna slay me like your brat brother?” 

“ _ Shutup! _ ”

“I’ve had enough of these games, girlie! You  _ will _ die here!” 

 

“No!”

 

The voice of a woman was unexpected, especially that of an apparent runaway hospital patient. She was slightly hunched, as if she were nervous, but her eyes were bright and worried, flickering between Darcy’s own and Erecura. They were grey. 

 

“No..” she said again, almost timidly. Darcy looked to Nico, meaning to tell him to get her out of here, but the look in his eyes made her pause. Recognition? 

 

“Nico--”

“My Goddess!” Annabel Lee yelped, still struggling to free herself from the phantom’s grip. D’Elormie turned his head in alarm. “My Goddess, do not go further! She is dangerous!” 

 

_ My Goddess… does that mean…? _

 

The woman with grey eyes nodded at them like a scolded child, but drew in a deep breath. Her back straightened and the air stilled and grew eerily silent. Her hospital gown fluttered in an invisible wind and the soil beneath her feet trembled. 

Darcy heard the mania gasp and go still, as if terrified. With a quiet thrust, vines snaked their way up from the ground and swirled around each other, forming the base of what appeared to be the shape of a tree. Though, instead of branches and leaves, marigolds and rosemary grew at the top, parting as something else fitted its way in. 

 

Gracefully, the grey-eyed woman rested her hand inside the plant, lifting out a sword by the hilt. A long sword, Stygian iron, blacker than night and flecked with gold and silver stars. The way she held it, how she lifted it towards Erecura with a defying gesture and sad eyes… My Goddess…

 

_ Lyssa _ .

  
Darcy’s mother met Erecura’s stare with a quiet challenge. “I am dangerous, too.”


	45. Darcy Devlin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i graduated high school  
> *weak kazoo noises*

The noise brought on by the battle had been deafening before, but now an odd silence stretched across the camp. Smoke beasts still became nightmares and attacked phantoms and undead soldiers, silently like the old films Uncle had once been so fond of. 

Nico and Will were still unsurprisingly poised for attack, though Darcy felt her defenses fall completely. Lyssa. Lyssa.  _ Máthair.  _

 

Erecura must have been screaming, her jaw dropped low like that and her one eye looking especially fierce. She swung her weapon around sloppily, ragefully. She sliced at Lyssa, who knocked away the blow with her sword. Flower petals fell instead of sparks. She countered, Erecura escaped only barely but with a stumble. 

Another silent screech. Or maybe Darcy was the only one who couldn’t hear? She opened her mouth and called for Nico, but he didn’t turn around. Neither did Will when she called him. They exchanged confused glances with one another, but didn’t acknowledge Darcy at all. She’d be miffed if this weren’t a grave situation. 

 

Then suddenly there was a sound. A voice in the silence, echoing.

 

“Darcy!” so familiar, yet so impossible… 

 

She turned her head slowly, partly wishing her mind was playing tricks on her again, because  _ gods _ this was painful. But as her eyes rested on his, she didn’t feel the swooping guilt punch into her stomach as she had with every memory of him. She felt… relief. 

Darcy glanced back at the battle taking place behind her, now faded grey and slowing until the two goddesses were like frozen figures, and everyone around her a background character in a miniature. Flower petals clung to the air and still smelled. 

 

“Darcy…” 

She turned back to her brother’s form. Torn grey jacket. Sad green eyes. 

 

“Are you real?” She asked, furious with the thickness of her voice, the clump of cries in her throat. Dillon smiled a small, sad smile. He shrugged. “A bit, yes. I never truly left you, but you know that don’t you?” 

 

Darcy nodded. He hadn’t left back in Lyssa’s palace, he’d been trying to help her this entire time and she knew it. The voices, the memories. 

He grinned again. “Good… then um… I’d like to tell you my side now... “ He appeared to shift in place. Even though Darcy knew he wasn’t actually standing in front of her, she wanted to reach out and comfort him. But she held back and only nodded again. 

 

“She possessed you,” Darcy muttered. “And used you to try to kill me…” 

Dillon stared at the ground with a solemn expression. “Yes..”

“Why did you let her?” Now her voice was edged and sharp, but she couldn’t hold it back. “Why did you let her do that to you, Dillon?” 

 

“You’ve always been so much stronger than me, Darce,” He began, eyes wistful. “Before, I didn’t understand it. We were…  _ are _ twins, right? We did everything together. Then Uncle had to give you that stupid  _ ring _ and suddenly you were so much better than me…” 

 

“Dillon, that’s not--”

 

“It is true. He may have taught us both but he didn’t treat us as equals. You couldn’t see it because you were too busy working hard to please him.” He noticed Darcy’s incredulous look. “Oh come on, you were proud, it’s okay to admit it, it’s not a bad thing. You found your special talent, who wouldn’t be proud of that? … Anyway, Uncle clearly saw your potential and prefered you over me. I was the training dummy..

“Erecura actually came to me before we even got those rings, yknow. As the cat. She hung around me a lot and eventually started talking to me. She said she could see the path we were on, and that it was forked down the line and we’d… go different ways. 

“I didn’t want you to leave me. Erecura suggested that maybe I was too weak to stay with you and I… I got scared.” 

 

“So you asked for her help?” 

Dillon shook his head. “I asked her for  _ advice _ , and she offered to train me... “ He visibly shuddered. “But it was a d-d-different kind of tr-training.”

 

For a moment, Darcy was confused. Then it connected and her stomach lurched. She felt sick. 

 

“She…  _ practiced? _ ” 

Her brother seemed to shrink into himself. “Y-yes… It hurt so much,  _ deirfiúr. _ Like my bones were on fire and frozen stiff at the same time. She’d be in my skin.. In my  _ head _ … It’s like she shoved me out but I could still feel  _ everything. _ An-and I didn’t want to do it anymore, but she said if I didn’t do this you would leave, and that if I told you, she’d  _ kill you… _ ”

 

Darcy felt the familiar flare of rage in her veins, only it grew hotter and more angry. This goddess hurt her brother. And in a  _ despicable _ way, and watching him shiver and fight back tears in front of her now only made her tighten her hold on her blade. 

 

_ I will have her head for this. Her rotting, bloody head.  _

“But she lied, didn’t she,” Darcy continued, teeth on edge and knuckles squeezed white. “She told you she’d just prove you were strong, but she intended to kill me out of spite.”

 

Dillon wiped under his eyes, flushed and looking sheepish, but nodded. “For Doran. She was going to kill you and then me, all because of Doran. But you stopped her.”

“I  _ killed _ you--”

“Which forced her out! Darcy, I  _ wanted  _ it, I wanted you to free me and save yourself, but I couldn’t even scream under her control.”

“...Did it hurt? Did I hurt you?”

He hesitated, swallowed. “Yes. It hurt. And then it didn’t and I was free.” 

 

Darcy felt the warmth pool in her eyes and she stifled a sob. “Where did you go? I… you were  _ gone _ when I came back..” 

“Ah,” Dillon’s eyes trailed to Lyssa’s stilled figure. “Mom showed up. Claimed me. I lived at the palace for a long time. When that phantom showed up, she tried to protect me by locking me in so I couldn’t help any of you.”

 

Darcy remembered something Will and Nico had told her. “The twisting hallways. The weird doors. You were trying to get out?”

 

“Trying and failing. It was Erecura’s last shot for revenge. She sent you there for you to die, if those two hadn’t shown up, I’m not sure I… I’m not sure I would have survived that.” He furrowed his brow, clearly confused by his own words. He shook his head. “You know what I mean.”

 

Darcy nodded. She did. 

“Dillon, why has she done this? Why is Erecura doing this?” 

 

“Ah, Doran,” Dillon answered, form flickering at the name. 

“What did he do?” 

“Fell in love with mom.” He looked back to his sister, green eyes sad but bright. “Refused a Goddess. Apparently embarrassed her. Mom told me the story a dozen times but… it sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? That she’d go this far to punish mom for something she couldn’t help. And then of course, mom’s part in it…”

 

“What? Mom played a part in it?”

“Yes. That’s why she left. She left us in hopes that he’d be protected if he wasn’t with her. But the Madness had already claimed him, and he follows her still.”

“ _ Still _ ?”

“He’s not himself Darcy,” Dillon explained carefully. “He’s a shell. A ghost. Wandering forever..” 

 

_ Fitting,  _ Darcy thought.  _ We’re a bunch of cursed ones, aren’t we? _

 

The snowglobe atmosphere around them began to quiver, with it Dillon’s form wavered, though he seemed to strain to right himself. 

“I can’t hold this for long,” he said, panting already. “It’s difficult already to hold a Goddess, let alone a Goddess who doesn’t wish to be contained.” 

 

A sudden pain like being prodded with the red end of a fire poker blossomed in Darcy’s chest. “You’re leaving? Again?”

The boy grinned like a raccoon. “Not leaving,  _ deirfiúr.  _ You will see me again, I promise it. But for now I must go, and you must win this battle for us, eh?  _ Slán agat, a dhlúthchara _ .”

 

Like watercolor, the images of the monsters and the Goddesses began to quiver and shake as Darcy’s only brother began to fade.

She bowed her head, eyes burning. “ _ Slán go fóill _ ,  _ deartháir _ .” 

  
Dillon beamed at her, winking once as he vanished. “ _ Of course. _ ”

 

As his form faded, the world around her began to move. It began with the air. As if moving through cement, campers and monsters alike regained mobility, their momentary pause going unnoticed. 

In front of her, Will and Nico turned their heads, each looking quizzical. It dawned on Darcy suddenly that before everything had paused, she’d called out to them. She gripped her blade tightly, hearing Erecura scream and her mother’s responding slashes. Twice Lyssa had knocked away Erecura’s bone blade and sent it flying. One landed in the lake, the other made a sizable hole in the pegasus stables.

 

“Nico.”

“Yea?”

“I need you and Will to protect the campers. The monsters are destroying the camp.” And it was true. Barricading themselves inside the cabins became a trap as the monsters ripped and clawed off the doors trying to get at them. It was only a matter of time before they got in and… 

 

Will nodded at the task, but cast a wary gaze Darcy’s way. “But what are you going to do?” 

 

Darcy was thrown to the memory of being hauled back into the infirmary, soaking and shivering from the rain, the blonde boy wearing the most peculiar expression of concern. She smiled bitterly at the memory. 

 

“I’m going to… stop them. I guess.” She didn’t sound incredibly confident, though she felt as calm as ever. 

 

“What?” Nico looked incredulous. “How?”

“I’ll… um… I’ll get to that part eventually.”

 

Darcy decided it was best not to give either boy much chance to react as she raced toward the two angry, fighting goddesses. 

 

Erecura secured herself another weapon, hissing at Lyssa like a feral cat. Darcy’s mother wore an unreadable expression, but the way she held herself gave off seriously dangerous vibes. Swallowing thickly, she willed her sword to revert into its more convenient shape and cupped her hands around her mouth. 

 

“Lyssa!”

 

The Goddess of Madness, Chaos, and Ghosts gave little inclination that she’d heard her daughter, but after a second of silence she quickly glanced down at her. 

 

Darcy drew in another deep breath. “Please! You have to stop this! You’re destroying the camp!” 

 

“She will kill you if I stop.” Her voice was ice but in the matter-of-fact kind of way. Satisfied with the answer she’d given, Lyssa leapt back into battle with the other goddess, leaving her daughter behind her. 

 

_ Of course that didn’t work _ … 

When had simply talking with the gods ever fixed anything? 

 

_ Think think… the Madness. I could give in again, maybe I’d be powerful enough to-- _

Darcy suddenly heard Dillon’s voice again, warning her how dangerous that would be.  _ I might not be able to survive the stress of it… _

 

She heard another hiss as a harpy unearthed itself and crashed into a cabin, clawing desperately at the hinges of the door. Inside, Darcy could make out muffled, panicked voices. The voices of the total strangers who stood up when she asked for their help. 

Skeletons rammed themselves against boarded up windows. Harpies attempted to dig through any woodwork. The nightmares were stabbed with bone swords or dragged into the earth, into oblivion. They were losing. 

 

Then Darcy wasn’t thinking. She felt light, her mind clearing away the fogginess, her white hair whipping around her in an unfelt wind. 

So what if she wouldn’t survive it. There were lives here that needed to be saved, and she could save them. Even if it meant dying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'd like to thank google translate for always being there for me


	46. Don't Forget Her, Okay?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so what started as one super huge chapter has now been split into three average sized chapters bc i didnt really know how long it would have been until posting this bit just now so
> 
> :3c hey

Nico was  _ exhausted _ . 

 

He’d summoned his own mini skeletal militia maybe four times now, but they kept getting confused and attacking each other. Will told him to stop but Nico wasn’t sure what else he could do to help when mano a mano combat clearly wasn’t working out that great. 

 

They’d managed to secure one of the cabins, Hermes, and free the trapped demigods inside, but judging from the state of things, this was a losing battle. The goddesses were all over camp, growing large and glowy and stomping on just about everything in their path. They’d crushed the volleyball court pretty splendidly. 

With them was Darcy. Nico could sense that she was using the Madness as a source of power again. It was in the way she held herself and how she twisted her body around in ways that would hurt even the most flexible people. It was in her eyes, too. Empty, tired, with an odd spark that suggested someone might be in there somewhere, but also warned you not to go digging..

 

Nico looked on with a gnawing unease settling in his gut. He knew that feeling and he hated it. Children of death often do… 

 

_ If she gets hurt… _ Nico wasn’t sure how to finish that thought. He’d never forgive himself? He’d kill Erecura? He’d tear camp apart trying to heal her? 

 

Next to him, Will jarred his thoughts. “I hope Lou’s okay.” He shot down another incoming harpy with a solemn look. 

Nico shrugged. “When is she not okay?” 

“Well I mean, she took the younger campers to safety and we haven’t seen her since…” 

“Probably turned them into guinea pigs.”

“Nico, be serious.” 

 

“Alright, look,” he faced his boyfriend with an almost level stare (Will being just a hair taller), and put one hand on his shoulder. “Lou Ellen is okay. She’s probably just sticking with the kids to keep them calm, okay? She’s fine, Will.”

Will studied his eyes for a second and Nico relaxed his shoulders to let him. Finally, he cast his blue marbles away with a sigh. 

 

“Yea, I guess you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right.” 

Will swatted at him, but Nico dodged. 

 

“In any case,” Will continued. “These monsters are destroying camp, how are we supposed to get rid of them?”

 

“Oh, they’ll disappear if you defeat that  _ swine _ that is attacking my Goddess…” D’Elormie was fuming, his arms crossed and wings beating impatiently. “Though how you little demigods will manage that, who knows.” 

“Brother!” Annabel Lee appeared and smacked her brother with one of her leathery wings. “We cannot idle, our Goddess will surely destroy herself, fighting as she is now! We must do something!” 

 

“Wait, what?” Nico swallowed the panic from his voice before asking, “What does that mean, destroy herself?”

 

Annabel Lee fidgeted, watching the two oversized goddesses fight with clear unease in her eyes. “My Goddess… she… She has not used her abilities since the birth of the twins…” Erecura slashed a thin streak of red across Lyssa’s cheek, and the mania yelped. “Her-Her power is much too-- aah!-- strong, an ever expanding mass of Mad-Madness-ess… Oh! Oh I cannot look!” And she covered her eyes with her claws, whimpering. 

 

“Our Lady used to sustain herself by excreting the extra power by manifesting flowers,” continued D’Elormie, watching the same battle with a look of pensive calculation. “It didn’t help very much, and soon the Madness began to affect her mind. As she is now, I’m afraid she cannot gauge her strength and will use too much of it, killing herself and everyone around her.” 

 

“But she’s a Goddess,” Will interjected. “She’ll simply be born again, right?” 

A shadow passed across D’Elormie’s face. “It’s possible. But it is not her I’d be worried about.” Beside him, Annabel Lee shrieked again, eyes wide and fearful. 

“Oh, oh I-I’ve forg-orgotten about her!”

 

“Who?” Will and Nico demanded. 

 

“Our Lady’s mother,” D’Elormie muttered. “And the sister of the one called Gaea. Born of Chaos, the night herself…”

Nico felt his stomach clench and drop, suddenly feeling nauseous. “Nyx. The primordial deity, Nyx. Oh.. Oh  _ gods. _ ”

 

Percy had mentioned the goddess before during his time in Tartarus with Annabeth, and Nico hadn’t given much thought as to how impressive it was for them to survive meeting her. Judging by the quaking Annabel Lee and how Nico’s weird, Ghost King instincts were telling him to  _ run! Take cover! Get out of here, man! _ , Nico could only imagine what level of terror and destruction a goddess actually feared by Titans could bring… 

 

“B-But,” Will plucked at his bowstring with his lip between his teeth. “She didn’t react at the battle of Gaea. Why would she react now?”

 

D’Elormie’s wings twitched with his sudden unease. “I can only imagine it being due to my Lady’s current state. With Gaea, she’s merely going to be reborn again eventually, but with…” he swallowed, meeting worried gazes with his sister. “Our Lady… she’s dying. She was never meant to have children, her body wasn’t supposed to be capable of it, but she was suffering with the Madness and the Chaos and when she met Doran…”

 

“Doran…” Nico said. “Darcy’s dad?”

Both mania nodded, face solemn. “She claimed it didn’t hurt, when she was with him. I never understood it myself--” “--she was in  _ love _ , brother--” “-- but I was pleased to hear her pain had been eased.” 

Annabel Lee nodded. “And then she got pregnant and… the pain returned. Worse. We told her not to assume a mortal body to bear the children but--”

“--but we believed she hoped to kill herself this way. To be rid of it. The Madness.”

 

Nico felt like he’d been slapped across the face. His eyes dragged up to find the determined face of the goddess in question, her eyes flashing with  _ clarity _ . 

 

D’Elormie continued, “Then they were born and… I’d… I’d never seen such a look on her face before…” 

“She loves her children,” Annabel Lee cried suddenly. “She loved them at first sight, she wanted to stay with them but--”

“--the Madness--”

“--she couldn’t  _ bear it _ , she was hurting them--”

“--so she ran, but Doran--”

“--he’d been subjected to it for too long--”

“--and he was infected with it, too--”

“--and we haven’t seen him since!”

 

D’Elormie sighed. “But she’s very weak, if she were to be destroyed by Erecura at this rate… she’d surely perish forever. And I’ve not known a god to ignore the death of a child.” 

Nico muttered, “I could name a few,” under his breath.

Apparently, the mania caught it. “Yes, well…” he cleared his throat. “I don’t know why they do that, I’m sorry.” 

 

“We have to help her.” Will said, that look in his eye that meant there was no fighting him on this. Not that Nico would. He nodded, giving his sword a spin. 

 

“We’ll do what we can here,” Annabel Lee claimed, knives protruding between her fingers when she flexed them. “Go, demigods! Quickly!” and she took to the skies again, cutting down incoming harpies. 

D’Elormie followed suit with a cordial nod at Nico and Will, setting to work freeing the trapped demigods and sending the skeletons back into the ground.

 

Will grabbed Nico’s hand, finding his eyes. “Do you think you can get us there?” Head nodding toward the lake, where the goddesses were currently battling to the death and getting water everywhere. Nico’s stomach clenched. 

 

_ No. Gods, I’m gonna be sick… _

 

“Yep.” And he left himself no time to hesitate as he disappeared into shadow with Will Solace in tow.

 

Which was dumb, considering he collapsed as soon as they arrived. 

 

“Nico? Neeks, are you okay?” Will was pressing sweaty palms to Nico’s even sweatier face, and he sluggishly pushed him away, attempting to stand. He felt like he was trying to stand mid-ride on a tilt-a-whirl, though his stomach seemed to be protesting that the world felt like a rollercoaster. And as he pushed himself on all fours, he opened his mouth to answer, and instead vomited. 

 

Hands pulled the hair from his face, and when he was finished, they gently stroked his cheeks. Will was grimacing. 

 

“Gross,” he commented.

“Mm… th.. thanks…”

“You should’ve told me if--”

“There’s nnn… no time…”

Will frowned, and Nico took the look to mean ‘we’ll talk about this later,’ which he very much wasn’t looking forward to. Suddenly, the hands on his cheeks went eerily warm, and the one hundred pound weight settling in his stomach lifted ever so slightly. He was distracted by the relief for a second, before snapping back into himself and shoving Will’s hands away. He fell to his knees with their absence.

 

“Don’t!” He tried to sound menacing, serious. Will’s frowned deepened, but the thin line of sweat forming on his forehead told Nico he did the right thing. “We.. can’t both be…..” He waved his hand, hoping Will would just  _ get it _ .

Thankfully the demigod did, choosing that moment to roll his eyes.

 

“Okay, you’re being all heroic and tragic, fine,” he huffed, glancing to the two very large, very angry goddesses who only had eyes for each other… and bloodshed. He looked back to Nico, gaze softening. 

 

“What are you going to do?” He asked quietly.

Nico shook his head. He didn’t know….  _ Gods  _ he didn’t know. Will kneeled to his level and  reached out and put a hand on his head, threading his fingers through his likely sweat slicked hair. A gentle tug brought him forward, the blonde’s lips landing softly on his brow. 

 

“Please,” he sighed. “Be careful.”

Nico gulped. He nodded. 

Will retreated, standing and carefully stringing an arrow in his bow. 

“I would’ve kissed you on the mouth but you probably taste like breakfast.”

“Will, ew.”

“I love you, Ghost King.”

Nico felt his face erupt into flame. “Shutup. Tell me later. When you come back.  _ Alive _ .” 

  
Will saluted in the most dorky way before racing off in Darcy’s direction. Nico wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, hoping to every god he could think of that his hand wouldn’t come away red.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im an adult and its terrifying pls forgive the long waits in between postings while i suffer tyyy <3
> 
> TUMBLR: clefaiiryy.tumblr.com :3c iiii changed my url but u can still find me there for comments, questions, threats whatever..


	47. Forgive Me, Lou

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaay i live barely

Will’s feet were aching, but he gritted his teeth and ran toward the fray anyway. Leaving Nico behind left a bitter taste in his mouth, but he knew that bringing him would only put him in more danger and he wouldn’t be able to bear it if--

 

_ Shutup! _

Right, don’t think about that, no negative thoughts. Focus.

 

Of course, the raging battle of death playing out in front of him wasn’t so relaxing either.

 

Darcy was having a rough time of it, even with her Madness-infused agility and strength. She danced around randomly, as if she were being tugged like a puppet, cutting down every monster in her path. She sliced at Erecura’s ankles, but the giant goddess’ attention was on the girl’s mother, who, for a Goddess of Madness, looked about as cool and level-headed as Will had ever seen anyone look. 

Lyssa brandished her weapon with an odd sense of dignity, blocking and countering Erecura’s hasty strikes with smooth ease. Every step she took caused an eruption of flowers at her feet, and with only two steps she manifested a small field of foxgloves. She seemed unperturbed by this, eyes eerily frozen on Erecura’s wretched form. 

 

At each failed attempt to win the Celtic Goddess’ attention, Darcy growled and faced the oncoming wave of monsters with a look Will had only seen Lou Ellen achieve. He shivered, a bow of violet light forming between his fingers as he settled it into his bow. To be honest, he wasn’t sure how he could help fend off two goddesses and a bunch of creepy crawlers, but he decided he could think up a plan later. With a deep inhale, the son of Apollo loosed the arrow and struck down a harpy. The arrow bounced, unfazed by its latest victim, and proceeded to hit two phantoms, another harpy, and someone’s nightmare in the form of a creepy, talking ventriloquist dummy before it melted back into the shadows. 

 

The Goddess Lyssa struck hard and fast at Erecura, forcing the other goddess to block with all her strength, skeletal heels digging in and uprooting the earth as she let out a guttural, inhuman scream.

 

“ _ Where is he!? _ ” Erecura’s voice had lost all its usual Irish charm. In fact, Will was only sure he could understand the words based from Lyssa’s answers. 

 

“Gone,” Lyssa replied calmly, pressing her sword down harder. “He’s gone.”

 

Erecura shrieked again, throwing her off. “ _ LIAR! _ ” And she stepped forward to meet the goddess with a strike of her own, kicking off a raging Darcy who had been hacking at her ankles to no avail again. 

 

“Darcy!” Will called, but the girl’s attention was clearly elsewhere, glassy hazel eyes glued to Erecura. Lyssa was no better, not having turned her head away from the Celtic Goddess even once since Will’s arrival. 

 

“I’m not lying to you, Erecura,” again, Lyssa spoke in a contrastingly calm tone of voice as she bat her adversary away. She flipped her sword in her hand, making no move to the offensive while she awaited the next blow. “I left. He followed me for a few decades but finally gave up the chase. He died in Italy--”

 

“Slanderous snake! Do not spew your lies at me,  _ tick! _ ” Erecura spat, then immediately laughed a hideous laugh, somehow dipping into the deep recesses of her Irish accent. “Yer off yer nut, who would believe ye anyways!” 

 

Lyssa wore an unimpressed expression and Will was suddenly aware of how similar she and her twin children looked. Their noses were the same… and the slight uptilt of her mouth when she became irritated was one of Darcy’s quirks… 

 

“It’s true.”

“It’s a damn lie!” Erecura slammed her blade down with much harder force than the goddess had been expecting, causing her to stumble backwards and trample the foxgloves. Seeing her chance, Erecura’s bone blade cracked as a coil of shadow rocketed from the crevices, shooting through Lyssa’s abdomen. 

 

Darcy howled as if the pain was her own, doubling over. Will made his way to her quickly, helping the girl stand straight again when the pain faded. 

One look in her wide, panicked eyes told Will that the Madness had been forced out.

 

“No,” Darcy gripped her shirt tightly, knuckles going white. “No no no, I’m  _ useless _ like this! I-I-I can’t ca-can’t…” 

“Easy,” Will willed his voice into a soothing tone. Darcy was staring at him with wide eyes, mouth opening and closing as she struggled with what she wanted to say and what wasn’t coming out properly. “Deep breaths, it’s going to be okay.”

 

Again, the girl shook her head vigorously, sputtering incoherent babble. Will laid gentle hands on her shoulders. 

 

“Hey, look at me. Focus on breathing right now, okay? We’re gonna figure this out, but you have to calm down. Breathe in… now out… good. In…” 

Shakily, Darcy did as instructed and slowed her breathing, feeling her racing heart settle into a hesitant but slower rhythm. Will nodded, appeased. 

 

Erecura howled another laugh, watching Lyssa struggle back into a standing position, clutching her side as it hissed and sparked with shadows, dripping ichor. It stained her hospital gown. It seeped in between her fingers. The goddess was biting her lip furiously, determined to stand. 

 

“Where’s yer Madness now, love?” Erecura asked, sauntering closer to the weakened goddess. She lifted a foot and gave a mighty kick to Lyssa’s already bleeding side. She gave a surprised squeaking noise as she flew backwards, crashing into the amphitheater. 

Darcy winced. 

 

“Will… Will wha-what do we do?” She twisted her once sword now jewelery on her finger, eyes flickering between Will’s face and the battle. 

Will drew in a breath. What  _ could _ they do in a fight between two powerful goddesses? The other demigods already had their hands full with the monsters, and the last Will had seen of Chiron had been when he’d joined the mania in their random counterattacks, saving demigods that got trapped in the cabins.

 

“Whe...where.. ?” Lyssa moaned as she dragged herself to her feet. “Where… is my.. Madness?” She echoed Erecura’s question, eyes sparking in a sudden shift of mood. Her lips cracked a wicked smirk, and she giggled like a schoolgirl, having to force a hand over her mouth to compose herself. 

 

“The Madness…” she swallowed the last of the laughter, meeting Erecura’s strong gaze. “Isn’t.. What you should be worried about! Ha!” And the laughter pealed out again, escaping as if she’d been holding it in all this time, bringing tears to her eyes as she threw her head back, causing her to hold her sides. 

Erecura watched her, expression wary, eyes narrowed. Will couldn’t blame her for her confusion, he himself kept an eye on the Goddess of Madness while she dissolved into hysterics. Beside him, Darcy suddenly tensed. 

 

“Will..” she hissed his name between her teeth, panicked. Will found her eyes, but the girl only grabbed him by the wrists and took off running away from the two goddesses. 

Before he could even ask, Will was overcome with a feeling of impending  _ dread _ . It scurried through his veins like ice and chilled him to the bone. He nearly tripped at the sensation, luckily Darcy didn’t appear bothered and caught him in time. 

 

“D-D-Darccce…” He chattered, shivering.    
Darcy bit her lower lip until it bled. “It’s not Madness anymore…” she whispered. Behind them, Lyssa let out a guttural screech, dark, obsidian claws extending from the tips of her fingers, teeth sharpening into fangs and taking up more room in her mouth than her jaw could allow, giving her the worst underbite Will had ever seen. Her eyes darkened until the white had vanished completely, and spiraled, misshapen horns forged through the top of her head, a little lopsided and uneven. The… Goddess’ laugh had changed too. It was more.. Animalistic.

 

Darcy clenched a fist into her hair, eyes wet.

“It’s Chaos.”

 

And then, Lyssa launched into the fight, bolder, reckless. Her claws swiped at Erecura, who lifted an arm in defense, earning a deep gash in her skeletal structure and a snarl from her offender. 

 

“This?” Roared Erecura. “ _ This _ is what you become? A bloody monster.. Ha!” She lifted her sword with a growl. “Which of us is worse then, love, when you’ve become just like me?”

 

The Celtic Goddess answered with a howl that shook Will by the bones and set the ground trembling. A large crack split open the ground and quickly slithered through camp, tripping fighting demigods and knocking over pillars with a thunderous crash. 

 

Will’s mind immediately fled to Nico; was he safe? What if he was hurt? But as much as the unanswered thoughts pained him, he shoved them aside. So what if he could help his boyfriend if it would only put them all in danger again?

 

“Chaos,” he breathed, watching as Lyssa pounced again. “And that means?--”

 

“We’re dead,” Darcy answered. “So dead, so very much dead.” 

 

_ Ah, nice optimism _ . But seriously, how were they supposed to solve this now? As if it weren’t already impossible to begin with… 

 

“Wait.” 

Will glanced to Darcy, whose eyes had suddenly blown wide and sparkled. “I have an idea. I can do that too, can’t I?” She pointed to her raging, raving mother currently trying to rip Erecura’s throat out with her teeth.

 

“Erm.. demigods don’t always get the same abilities as their godly parents, sometimes it’s just a matter of--”

“But I have to do something,” Darcy said decidedly, fists clenched. “I tapped into the Madness pretty well, what difference would Chaos make?” She took a step forward, and Will’s hand shot out to grab her wrist.

 

“Darcy, do you see her? She’s completely animalistic, I don’t think you can come back from something like that. There’s another way--”

“No, there isn’t.”

“There has to be!” He could taste his desperation, he could feel his heart pounding. “We could-- we could--”

 

“What?” Darcy ripped her arm away from his grasp and Will flinched. Her eyes were cold, but her face told him she was just as terrified. “We could sit here and watch the show while they destroy one another and everyone with them? They’re going to kill us, Will. Both of them. We have to do  _ something _ .” 

She tilted her head and gave a strained smile, trying to relax him. “And I can do this. After all you’ve done for me… after everything you’ve all done for me… I.. I-I can d-do this-s.” She quickly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. 

 

Will felt his heart rip. Slowly, painfully. He took Darcy’s wrist again and pulled her into a hug. The girl hugged back awkwardly, huffing a small chuckle at the sudden gesture.

 

_ Please _ , Will begged Apollo, his father.  _ Please, please, please…  _

 

“Will?” Her voice was muffled from where her face was squished against his chest. 

“Hm.”

“Will… let go..” 

“Oh, oh right.. Yea…” And he did. Slowly. Until Darcy took three steps away from him with wet eyes and a gentle smile. She turned to the brawl with a deep breath. 

 

“Hey, Will. Can you… tell Lou Ellen that I’m sorry?”

Will’s throat constricted but he managed out, “Sorry for what?” 

“Just… tell her for me?” 

Will noted her eyes gleam as she fought back the tears and nodded. “You tell her. When you get back.” 

Darcy cracked a grin, wiping at her eyes. “S-sure!” And she took a few steps backwards, before turning around completely. Before starting towards the battle. Before leaving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> clefaiiryy.tumblr.com 


	48. An Ending, One of Many

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> know that i love u

She couldn’t do it. She tried, she tried so hard but she just  _ couldn’t do it. _ Madness was one thing, Madness was  _ easy _ but Chaos? Exactly as it sounds. 

 

Darcy’s head was pounding but she forced her feet to move with the thought of seeing them again. Lou Ellen. Will and Nico and Hae-Won and everyone.. She was doing this for them wasn’t she? Then  _ do it! _

The searing pain shot through her again and she stumbled with a gasp. 

 

_ Give in _ , the Madness tempted.  _ You can’t resist.  _

 

_ No, I need  _ more. 

 

_ You can’t handle any more. _ Another lightning strike of pain. She groaned through it, one hand clutching the side of her head.  _ Any more and you’ll die. Painfully. _

 

In front of her, only a few yards away, Lyssa snarled and snapped and kicked up mound fulls of dirt in her pounce at Erecura.  _ Was _ there any coming back from that? 

 

She screamed at the searing pain behind her eyes. 

 

 _No,_ said the Madness. _No there isn’t._ _Not for you._ And Darcy bit her lip to the point of drawing blood, fighting, trying to go deeper even when her own head was taunting her. 

 

“I should have killed you when you were love sick!” Erecura launched Lyssa away with a scream. “Before you  _ vanished _ and  _ duplicated! _ ” She stretched a hand to Darcy, fingers clenching slowly, and the ground beneath her feet began to quake and crumble as more dead slithered out from the seam. 

Darcy drew her sword with a scowl. A low whistling overhead gave her pause however, and a blur of wings and a string of eloquently spoken curses later and the zombies had retreated back into their earthy homes, a few missing limbs and most covered in throwing knives. 

 

D’Elormie and Annabel Lee landed in front of Darcy, their faces the very definition of menacing and protective. 

 

“You shall  _ not _ harm young mistress Darcy,” D’Elormie said, eyes gleaming wickedly. 

 

“Oh, won’t I?” Erecura countered, hand poised to summon another batch. She suddenly recoiled with a cry of pain, hand covering her only eye, a throwing knife stuck deep inside it. 

 

“No,” Annabel Lee said in an eerie calmness that shook Darcy herself to her bones. “You won’t.”

 

Erecura howled as she ripped the knife out of her socket and flung it to the ground. In her moment of pain, her guard fell and Lyssa once again attacked. Her claw like nails sliced through bone and lobbed one of the goddess’ arms right off. It crashed a few feet away from Darcy, the resulting rush of air clearing her fogged mind. 

 

Darcy didn’t know what to do, and this realization sent a stab of ice through the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t connect to the Chaos, it was too much for her… 

 

_ So! _ The voice Darcy had so long figured to be Dillon’s suddenly took on a familiar, comforting lilt. 

 

“..Lou.. Ellen..?”

 

_ Use what you have! You’re giving up now, after everything you’ve been through? Don’t be stupid, Darce. You  _ can _ save us. You will. You have to.  _

 

“I.. have to..” 

“ _ I have to..”  _

 

“Brother! Get young miss out of the way of danger, quickly!” Annabel Lee barked. D’Elormie moved to oblige but stopped just short of where Darcy stood, eyes blankly staring ahead. Her lips were moving just barely. 

 

“..av...to….I..ha…” 

“What is it? What are you saying?” 

“ _ Brother! Now! _ ” 

“She’s speaking, sister, something’s happening!” He reached a leathery hand for her, quickly recoiling as a noticeable wave pulsed from her, sending shivers and tinglings up and down the mania’s spine. It was too much, too familiar… He only managed to recognize what was happening when Darcy’s eyes glowed white.

 

D’Elormie reached for her again but was harshly yanked away. Annabel Lee was cursing in multiple languages, not all mortal and some he’d never even heard of. 

 

“We can’t save her now,” Annabel Lee cried. “We’ve failed.”

But her brother wasn’t listening, his focus entirely on the floating girl with the white eyes. She seemed to test out her new body, wiggling her fingers and causing them to leave behind blurred trails of light. 

 

“Oh,” Annabel Lee clutched her brother’s hand tightly. “Tell me she did not…” 

“But she did, sister, what else can I tell you?”

“Tell me you’re lying!”

“But that itself would be a lie.”

 

Darcy found it difficult to describe how she felt. Words would appear in her head but disappear before she could fully take in their meaning, and by then she was distracted with the fuzziness of the aura around her skin. She was vaguely aware that her feet were no longer on the ground, but at the same time felt that this was only natural. 

 

_ Is this.. Chaos?  _

 

_ Not at all, _ echoed a woman’s voice. Lyssa’s. Erecura’s. Both. It didn’t matter. 

 

Light. She felt light.

 

And Erecura lunged, eyes alight with fury, mouth torn open by a guttural scream, hands and claws outstretched and pointed and poised. But she was met with the shining eyes of the goddess Lyssa and a howl and a flurry of clovers cutting like razors as they sliced through the air at the goddess’ command. 

  
Annabel Lee stifled a cry, D’Elormie taking his sister's hand gently and pulling her away from the scene. He knew there was no stopping what was to come, and he would not let his only family be harmed in the midst of it.

 

Still, Erecura fought, reaching through the hurricane of clovers to snatch at Lyssa, who vanished. With her went the force holding Erecura back, causing her to fly forward and crash into yet another building on camp territory. 

 

Darcy felt her chest constrict and she felt obligated to leap into action, but she paused. Cocking her head to the side, she could make out a sound. A whimper, a cry. She knew where to look by instinct alone, and the sight made ice spike through her veins. 

A camper. Young, bleeding, nursing clover cuts and watching the two goddesses with wide, scared eyes. She saw Dillon. She saw herself. 

 

What… what was she  _ doing?  _ She slowly descending onto the ground once more, though her blurred figure and glowing white eyes remained. She watched the young camper struggle to run, toward camp, toward the beckoning arms of Will Solace, toward the safety behind the wounded Nico di Angelo… toward Lou Ellen’s crooked smile, toward Hae Won’s knowing eyes, toward..  _ Home _ …

 

Gods, had she forgotten? This place was home to a lot of those campers--  _ kids _ . Kids who have seen unspeakable evil and have buried their siblings and live with the nightmares that follow. She.. she understood that, didn’t she? 

 

“I… I’m... “ 

 

Erecura dug herself free from the rubble and started in Lyssa’s direction, where she had reappeared, in a field of clovers. 

 

_ No… I… I can’t let this happen.. I.. _

 

And she was moving on her own, faster than she’d ever thought possible. She soon realized she was flying, her feet not even grazing the ground as she sped toward her target. Erecura was getting closer, her skeletal hand outstretched. The clovers slowly loosened themselves from the ground and began rising, spinning. Darcy held out her hand.. And was grabbed by both goddesses. Suddenly what had been the overwhelming  _ push _ became a  _ pull _ as the frenzied goddesses kept their grip and began to pull Darcy in each direction. She thought she felt something, a deep, bone level coldness seep through her chest and explode outward.    
  


Suddenly, everything was white and silent.

 

\--

“No!” Dillon gripped his hair too tightly, tugging hard, watching. Darcy stood calmly in front of him in the blank, colorless space. She smiled sadly, and he scowled at her. 

 

“No… nonono… you aren’t supposed to… I... “ 

She quieted him with a simply squeeze of his hand. “I’m not going to take someone else’s home,” she said simply. “Not again.” 

 

“But you won’t just die if you do this, Darcy! You will disappear! There won’t be any trace of you left, not even a--” 

“Ghost.” Darcy nodded solemnly, eyes cast downward. “I know… but this will work, I know it. And then they’ll be safe. They’ll be home again.” She looked up with a watery grin. “See you on the other side?... or.. I guess I won’t, huh?” She chuckled and wiped at her eyes. “A-At least… I get to say goodbye this time..” 

 

“Please!”

“Goodbye,  _ deartháir _ .”

\--

 

And there was a flash of white, blinding really. Will ducked his head, one hand gripped tightly into Nico’s, who turned and pressed his face into Will’s shoulder if only to avoid the light. There was a scream, or a screech, as Erecura’s body began to crack and fracture and dissolve. Lyssa’s face became stony unreadable. Neither boy could spot Darcy in the fireworks. 

 

The light dwindled quickly and then let out a massive pulse, turning the nightmares and the undead monsters into dust and billowing them away from campgrounds. And when all settled, when the dust cleared and the noises had stopped, when every demigod’s eyes looked to where Darcy Devlin had been standing… 

 

She wasn’t there.

 

\--

 

She didn’t reappear either. They waited, Will and Nico both. Staring after the dug up earth as the dust settled, watching the clovers sway in the wind. Will distinctly remembered that it had stopped raining, but he couldn’t recall exactly when. 

 

It took some convincing to get them to leave for the infirmary to get patched up, both boys shoving off their attempts with blank faces before Hae Won took them both by the hand and led them away with a somber expression. 

 

Will knew this was shock, knew that this was his emotions causing this and not his body, but it angered and upset him even more since he couldn’t control it. He struggled against Hae Won’s hand holding, but he couldn’t do much more than meekly twist his wrist a little, effectively doing nothing. She shushed him, had he been saying something?

 

The familiarity of the infirmary and all it’s noxious smells and general being somewhat brought Will back into himself. He could focus at least, and watched as Hae Won diligently bandaged and cared for his cuts and wounds. She didn’t say much besides asking if he hurt anywhere else and if he wanted to do the honors for Nico. 

 

“Sure.” Gods, his voice cracked and sounded so…  _ wrong. _ He moved to ask if Nico would be okay with that but was met with empty air. It took him a whole five seconds before asking, “Where is he?” 

 

“Ah,” Hae Won was busy packing a small medkit, unfazed by Will’s lapse in memory. “He broke free a while ago, ran off to the Hades cabin I’m assuming.” She zipped up the pack and tossed it in Will’s direction, who fumbly caught it. “Better get going then.” 

 

He nodded slowly and started for the door. 

 

“Will?”

He turned his head. 

“..I’m sorry.” 

 

\--

 

His knocking brought on no reply, so Will let himself in. He set the medkit on one of the bunks, looking up and sighing as he watched his boyfriend pace in a circle. 

 

“Nico--”

“What  _ was _ that?” Nico’s voice sounded scratchy and uncharacteristically small. “Was-- was that like shadowtravelling? Did she take them somewhere? Did she take them to Nowhere?” 

 

“Nico…”

The dark haired demigod shook his head, face crumpling and eyes squeezing shut. “No-- no n-no she’s not..” he drew in a breath, “.. she’s not  _ gone _ \--” he laughed, “--she can’t be  _ gone _ , Lou Ellen will never for-forgive her for  _ that _ so she can’t be--”

 

Will set a careful hand on Nico’s cheek. His eyes opened slightly, and he crushed himself against Will’s chest with a heart wrenching sob. 

 

It was sometime later when Will gently wrapped his wounds to the sounds of soft sniffling. He finished and packed up his things, his own eyes starting to feel bleary and tired. 

He leaned over to kiss Nico’s hair, to pet his cheek again, to do..  _ Something _ in hopes of offering even the smallest comfort… but Nico moved away, crawling into his bunk without a word and covering his head with the blankets. 

  
So Will left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...  <3


	49. After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;; ^;; is anyone else sad that this is like.. over??? im sAAAAAD

\-- Some Time After ---

 

It wasn’t fair, but that was Death for you. And you’d think Nico would’ve understood that the best, being a harbinger of it himself. Still, his mouth tasted bitter. 

 

“Nico.”

 

The quiet knocking hadn’t stopped, despite that it’d been at least ten minutes since Nico’s last audible noise. He ignored it though, tuning out the voice as best he could and watching behind a curtained window. 

It was late. He could hear crickets. Even still, Nico watched brave demigods sneak past. Whether to sneak in snacks or creatures or friends into their cabins, it didn’t really matter. Usually, Nico wouldn’t have found watching these people interesting… except now he recognized a few. It was in their eyes.

 

“Nico, you’re going to have to come out of there sometime… Please?”

 

Ever since the Nightmares, Nico could easily pick out who had been affected by them. It was the same as determining who was close to death or who had recently died, but he could lock those powers away, he could ignore them. He couldn’t change the way someone looked, even if they wore it on their faces.. 

A sort of hollowness. Shame.

 

Nico could empathize, for gods’ sake, the kids lived their worst nightmares and had it exposed in front of everyone. Apollo campers teamed up with some Hypnos kids and held a small therapeutic gettogether around lunch every other day now. Gods, he never went.

“Listen… I know it’s been hard on you, it’s been hard on me too..” There was a soft ‘thump’ sound as Will rested his head against the cabin door. “I can’t find Lou Ellen anywhere, and.. A-and I can’t… ho-hold it in much longer…” 

 

Nico lifted his head from where he’d buried it in his arms and glanced at the door, the soft ‘thump’ing noise slowly continuing and getting louder as the blonde added more strength into it. Nico sniffed and made his way to the door, opening it just as Will fell forward. He caught him wordlessly. 

 

The blonde had tear streaks down his face and puffy, pink eyes. He was still in his pajamas, having snuck out only an hour before last call for lights out. He hiccuped onto Nico’s shoulder, the younger demigod reaching behind him to close the door again. 

 

_ Day fifteen... _ Nico kept the thought to himself, maneuvering his boyfriend until they both sat on the bottom bunk of the bed. 

 

The first day…  _ after _ had been a rough one. Cleanup and rebuilding was of course a priority, but they had gone about it with solemn expressions and whispered voices. Hae Won and Tadashi discussed the most efficient ways to patch up the cabins that had been clawed and pried apart. Dustin pulled up the foxgloves, which had withered all at once that morning. Clef and Lou Ellen found privacy in the big house, though Nico noticed the rims of red under both of their eyes, Lou Ellen’s fingers tightly grasping Clef’s sleeve and her eyes wide and her face slack. It hurt him to see her like that, but he couldn’t imagine what she must’ve been feeling.

 

Nico couldn’t help anyway. He disappeared, thankful that he had healed enough to shadowtravel short distances without popping a nose bleed. He hid in the strawberry fields in the day, then in the southern woods at night. Avoiding.. Well, everyone. Everything. … Will. 

He found plates of food by his cabin door, and he’d eat what he could, but mostly he pushed the food around until it was taken. Several times, Reyna or Hazel or Piper would come to his cabin. He’d listen to them voice their concerns through the cabin door, but he never answered. Will came, too, usually with the light hearted suggestion that they join the campfire, or go stargazing… but Nico would choke on his own voice until Will resignedly walked away…

 

This day was different, he saw. Nico stroked the blonde curls from Will’s face slowly, tucking what he could behind his ear and leaving the rest to fall. He murmured in Italian; nonsensical things, recipes, nursery rhymes.. But it seemed to work, Will’s cries slowly calming into small sniffs and hiccups. 

 

“S-Sorry..” he muttered, furiously rubbing at his eyes and pulling away from Nico’s hold. “I know you don’t wa-want to see anyone, I’l go--”

 

Nico grabbed his hand before he could stand, shaking his head. He.. didn’t want that. He didn’t want to be.. Alone… anymore… He couldn’t even recall what had made him want that in the first place. He knew he was hurting Will yet he still… 

He tugged the boy back, interlocking their fingers and setting his head on Will’s shoulder. 

 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered after a lengthy silence. He kicked his feet and let them swing over the side of the bunk, keeping his eyes down. “I’m sorry for shutting everyone...  _ you _ out for so long… I don’t know what I was thinking I just--”

 

“It’s okay,” Will answered softly, nose pressed to Nico’s hair. “You were grieving, we all were--”

 

“But I wasn’t there for you when I should have been.” Nico bit his lip. “I-I was being selfish, you had to hold it in for  _ two weeks _ , Will, I should have been with you, I’m so sorry.” 

 

He felt Will nod a little, breath hitching. Nico ran his thumb over Will’s trembling hand, swallowing back the guilt he’d let build up those last couple of weeks. Of course it had to have been tough for Will, why wouldn’t it have been? They had both been close to… She’d done quite a bit for them, didn’t she… 

 

Will drew in a shaky breath, trying to calm his nerves. After a few, he seemed more relaxed, and finally told Nico all of his thoughts and feelings, voice breaking any time he said her name, eyes casting themselves downward at the mention of how many kids were seriously injured, how many didn’t make it due to the extent of their injuries, how many suffered psychological trauma and confessed feeling that the Nightmares were still chasing them. 

 

“You did all you could,” Nico would answer softly, tucking blonde locks away from ocean eyes. Will wouldn’t reply to that, only swallow his arguments and nod with a faraway look. 

 

“We should have known right away,” Will’s voice broke the lulling silence that had stretched between them. “That something wasn’t right. What sort of Goddess just…  _ happened _ to be in the wood and  _ happened _ to see her and  _ happened _ to--”

 

“But we didn’t know,” Nico replied easily. “How could we have? When she seemed so genuine, when we just wanted to have our friend back? We were tricked and betrayed, hardly a historical happenstance in the world of demigods…”

 

“I hate this.”

“I know, me too.” 

 

And for a while, they just sat, content to be in each other’s company. Will was the first to fall asleep, and the sheer force of exhaustion he’d given off made Nico wonder how many nights it’d been since the boy closed his eyes. A few at least… 

He settled in next to Will, remembering his first few days in the infirmary. The beginning of… of  _ them _ . Of all of it. Nico was asleep moments later.

 

\--

 

Lou Ellen was there for breakfast the next morning, though she didn’t eat much. She would poke at the eggs and tip the bacon over, but never actually put a morsel to her mouth. She had her knees drawn to her chest on the bench, and her chin tucked on top, her gaze rather hazy and dull. Will and Nico sat with her, on the opposite bench, quietly. 

 

Will had run into Lou Ellen only a few days after. She’d been with Clef and Dustin at the time, helping out at the infirmary. Will had only walked in to see if Nico had been around, but he saw Lou Ellen and felt his chest tighten and suddenly he was just staring and stammering, feeling like he had to be careful around her, eggshells and all that. Lou Ellen noticed immediately, growling and throwing the bandages she’d been rolling to the floor. The door had slammed behind her, Clef had winced. Dustin pet Will’s shoulder awkwardly. Hae Won swatted him over the head. 

 

“Well, idiot, go after her.”

“She.. she doesn’t want to see--”

Hae Won lifted her clipboard again and Will never ran faster. 

 

He found her by the lake, sitting on the dock with a small pile of stones beside her along with her shoes. She dangled her feet over the edge, just barely missing the water, and lobbed stones across gracelessly, waiting for that satisfying  _ plunk!  _ before throwing another. She stiffened as Will sat next to her, letting the silence between them grow. 

 

“Lou--”

“Will, I really don’t want to talk about this..” Lou Ellen sighed, sounding weary to her very bones. She watched the water ripple with the breeze, crossing her arms. “I’m really… really tired of talking about this…” 

 

He nodded. He could understand that, but… 

 

“I think she cared about you,” he found himself saying softly. “I’d watch her sometimes. She looked at you a lot.. Like… like you were something she’d never seen before..” 

 

“...Really?” 

“Yea.. you were always looking away, but I could see it. She cared about you.”

 

Lou Ellen rested her fingers over another stone, feeling it’s smooth surface. She let out another shaky sigh, gripping the stone tightly. 

 

“I.. I cared about her, too.” She threw it. It  _ plunked _ . 

 

“Oh, obviously.”

Lou Ellen sputtered. “Wh-what? What do you mean, ‘obviously’?”

Will put his hands behind his head, leaning back to lay down with a yawn. “I mean, it was obvious you liked her. As soon as you saw her, you were practically making up excuses to be close to her.” 

 

“I-I!!... I was  _ not _ \--”

“Is this what it feels like talking to me? Was I this oblivious about Nico, or are you just a special case?”  

“ _ Will! _ ” 

“No seriously, do I look at Nico as googly eyed as you looked at Darcy or was I just imagining things?”

 

With a flustered huff, Lou Ellen shoved his leg half-heartedly, cheeks and ears bright red. 

 

“Shutup..” she mumbled, unable to hide how her lips quirked up at the corners. “She was…” her face fell again. “She… wa-was…” The sentence died on her tongue and she swallowed it, pulling in her legs crossing her arms over her knees. 

 

Will sat up again, gently leaning against her until his head landed on her shoulder. 

 

“Yea, she was..” Will gulped, letting the moment last a second longer before leaning away again and casting his gaze to the water. 

 

“You know,” he started. “I was there.. When she... “ he gestured vaguely in front of him. “ _ Left _ … she told me to tell you something, and I told her she could just tell you when she got back… but…” 

 

Lou Ellen nodded, lifting a thumb and beginning to chew anxiously on the nail, waiting. 

 

Will knew there’d be no point in delaying the message, but still he hesitated. Maybe it was the hopeful, sad look in Lou Ellen’s eyes, or how the lake had gone eerily still, how his voice sounded so loud over the silence that stretched between them, but whatever it was, he forced it to the back of his mind and then let it go. 

 

And at first, nothing happened. Lou Ellen turned her face back to the water, expression still lingering and thumbnail tapping slowly on her lower lip. She nodded a few times, and suddenly stood, clambering to grab as many stones as she could hold. Then she screamed. She shouted.. Hurtful things. Things Will knew she could never actually mean. 

Each stone splashed in the water and sank, and when she was out, she just kept screaming, hot, angry tears spilling down her chin. 

 

It took a few minutes and several hushed and (hopefully) soothing words for Will to calm Lou Ellen down, and even then her crying made her incoherent. She simply slumped against his chest, sniffling and cursing. And Will pet her hair in the way he knew she liked, and did his best to be comforting-- talking about nonsense, old stories, memories of when they were younger. 

 

She had stopped crying when he started in on a classic Stoll pranking mishap, chuckling because it was one she had heard before, but Will prided himself on how she laughed softly despite that. And Will gushed over Nico and the cute faces he makes when he sleeps, and Lou Ellen smiles and calls him a dork, squishing his cheeks together, laughing when Will still tries to talk though he wasn’t making any sense anymore. 

 

\--

 

It was day thirty-one when Nico felt like he should at least honor Darcy’s memory with a funeral. Most everyone who had been there that day had shown up, the exceptions being anyone who was too injured to leave the infirmary or those that suffered the mental toll of being attacked and possibly hurt by their nightmares. Nico didn’t blame them, and he harbored no hard feelings. No one did. (Curiously, however, D’Elormie and Annabel Lee were not in attendance.)

 

It was a simple ceremony. A patch of marigolds had been spotted growing beside the lake where the foxgloves had once been, and they held it around that. Clef quietly admitted she felt somewhat responsible. Nico watched Lou Ellen take her hand and reassure her that she wasn’t.

 

He had just taken Will’s hand after the ceremony had ended when he heard a small voice cautiously call his name. He turned his head. 

 

Dillon looked pale, even for a ghost, his grassy eyes sunken into his skull with dark bruises colored around them. Nico was sure if he lifted his shirt, he would see ribs. He wondered how a ghost could’ve gotten in such a state, and asked as much. Dillon explained with a breathless voice that he could only survive so long as a ghost within his mother’s, Lyssa’s, palace. 

 

“With… with her gone, I-I can’t find… I don’t kn-know…” He slumped his shoulders, defeated. “And without… Darce, I just don’t know if I… if I can…” He made a vague gesture with his skelton-like hands. 

 

_ Go on, _ Nico finished.  _ He doesn’t know if he can go on without her. _

 

Dillon swallowed. “I’ll become mindless. Like a ghoul. A.. A phantom... Not alive but not… not  _ dead _ either. I don’t know what you must think of me, after all of this, after what…  _ Erecura _ made me do and after she used my image as a pawn, but... “ 

 

“You want to be put at peace,” Nico finished, out loud this time. Startled by a voice other than his own, Dillon jumped, but nodded vigorously, eyes expressing gallons of gratitude. 

 

“ _ Please _ … I’m.. I’m so  _ tired _ .” 

 

Will gave Nico’s hand a small squeeze, quietly inquiring if he’d be alright. Nico shooed him with a nod and a squeeze back, and Will left the two. 

 

It was a simple task, but Nico still fought the knot forming in his throat. He began praying silently to his father, wishing Dillon’s soul well on the journey blah blah blah blah… 

 

“Thank you.” Dillon whispered. Nico looked at him inquiringly. “What for?” 

“For this. For everything you’ve done for me and my sister… you’re a good person, Nico di Angelo.” His Irish accent was a touch heavier than Darcy’s had been, so Nico’s name sounded strange rolling off his tongue, but he grinned at the effort made. 

 

He reunited with Will minutes later, and if his eyes were watery, Will didn’t say anything.

 

\--

 

Months later and the air had gotten cooler, inviting more clouds and more showers as summer slowly but surely prepared to break for autumn. Nico and Will were spending their afternoon hiding from their teams in capture the flag, enjoying each other’s company by the lake. 

 

“Oh, come on, please?”

 

“Will no, I’m not riding in a stupid canoe with you.” 

 

“Why not!”

 

“Because last time you tipped us over trying to play a guitar and paddle at the same time.” 

 

Will reached over from where he sat, hooking his arm around Nico’s shoulders. “I promise I won’t this time.” 

“Uh huh, forgive me if I don’t actually believe that.” 

With a guffaw noise of offense, Will leaned close enough to slide his fingers up Nico’s ribcage, making the boy giggle and shove at him, though not as hard as he could have. Nico was subjected to the torture of his boyfriend’s fingers, raking at his sides and in all of his soft spots, until he had to beg for mercy amidst his laughter. 

 

Finally relenting, Will sat back with a broad smile. Nico pushed him over with a loud, “ _ Idiota! _ ”, all the while a flustered, flushed, beautiful mess. 

 

“You know,” Will drawled. “Just last week, like eight different campers came in with reports of seeing  _ a man _ walk out of this… very… lake?” He inched his face ever closer to Nico’s, unimpressed/amused glare. 

 

“Are you trying to scare me, Solace?  _ Me _ ?” 

Will held his hands out to the side. “Why, you feelin’ spooked, di Angelo?” He asked with a smirk and a wink. Nico rolled his eyes and snorted. 

 

The wind got a fraction of a degree chillier, and Will watched his Italian boyfriend shiver at it’s touch. He felt his chest swell with affection, and he couldn’t help but kiss him chastely on his pinkening cheek. Nico seemed shocked then, eyes wide with a cute, confused expression. 

 

Pushing himself to his feet, Will offered down a hand. “We should go, huh? Wouldn’t want you to catch a cold, right?” 

Nico stared after him for a second, drinking in the blonde’s appearance. His freckles were fading, but still dotted his skin deliciously. The glint of laughter ever-present in his ocean blue eyes still twinkled with every smirk. Will was beautiful and soft, he was sunlight and guitar hums, he was violin strings and strawberry cake and--

  
Nico finally grabbed his hand. “Oh, I don’t think I’d mind.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welp. there it is. my work of what almost two years? ;; n;; sigh
> 
> was it okay? was it what u were expecting? would u have changed anything? please let me know! 
> 
> as far as my next project, im thinking klance (voltron) bc the dynamic is similar and im not ready to let go of it just yet, yknow? im not sure what it'd be or how long or anything yet so? ahhhhh
> 
> hmu at clefaiiryy.tumblr.com if u wanna talk about this fic or future ones or if u just wanna be buds, that's cool too! ;; ~;; see u later friends <3


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